False News Story About Kim Jong-un Death Causes Impact of Korean Stock Market

It is amazing how gullible people keep falling for these fake news stories they see pop up in their social media feeds and don’t bother to read the article.  This recent example of a false news story saying Kim Jong-un was killed by a suicide bomber even impacted the Korean stock market:

A false news story that claimed Kim Jong Un was assassinated caused tremors in South Korea’s foreign exchange market on Friday.

The story published on fake news outlet East Asia Tribune alleged the North Korean leader was attacked by a female suicide bomber and killed in an explosion in Pyongyang.

The article also claimed the report was from Pyongyang’s state television network KCTV.

While the report was quickly dismissed on social media, on Friday morning in Seoul the story affected movements in the currency market, local news service Financial News reported.

The exchange rate for the South Korean won spiked to 1178 won to the U.S. dollar, before closing at 1172.7 won.

Defense stocks also rose momentarily on Friday but once rumors were dispelled trading resumed normal levels, according to local press.  [UPI]

You can read the rest at the link.