The issue of election interference by external entities, specifically the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is a growing concern for many countries. South Korea, scheduled to hold parliamentary elections next year, has recently stepped up its vigilance against such activities. This move follows an unusual surge in online public support for the Chinese men’s soccer team on South Korean web portals.
During a quarter-final match between South Korea and China in the Hangzhou Asian Games on Oct. 1, the live cheer page on Daum, a major South Korean portal site, revealed an anomaly. It showed that cheers for the Chinese team had received approximately 20 million clicks, making up an astonishing 91 percent of the total. Meanwhile, the South Korean team received only 9 percent of the support, calling into question the validity of these statistics.
Addressing the issue, Park Sung Joong, a member of the National Assembly’s Committee on Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications, held a press conference on Oct. 3. Mr. Park stated, “There is evidence suggesting that entities from China, possibly the CCP, have been meddling with our portal sites. There is also a suspicion that North Korea may be indirectly involved, using Chinese IPs [internet protocols].”
Mr. Park urged local web portals to introduce countermeasures, including nationality tags for comments made from Chinese and other foreign IPs, and potentially disabling the comment function altogether.
As parliamentary elections loom, Mr. Park emphasized that the CCP could very well “sway public opinion abroad.” Consequently, it is imperative for South Korea to implement preventive measures against these tactics.
On Oct. 4, for example, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) announced that its analysis of 31.3 million cheer clicks on the Daum site found that around 50 percent of the 22.9 million identified clicks came from Dutch IPs, while approximately 30 percent came from Japanese IPs. The KCC commented, “External entities are using virtual private networks (VPNs) to masquerade as South Korean citizens and are leveraging automated systems to generate a flood of data in favor of China.”
Lee Dong-kwan, chairman of the KCC, warned that such activities could “destabilize national order.” He added, “The individuals behind these activities must be identified and held accountable. If a subsequent investigation reveals that Daum and its parent company, Kakao, have violated any existing laws, strict penalties will be enforced.”
On the same day, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo initiated the creation of a special task force focused on “Strategies to Prevent the Distortion and Falsification of Public Opinion.” The KCC will spearhead this task force, in collaboration with various ministries, including justice, science and ICT, and culture, sports, and tourism.
“In order to prevent another ‘Druking incident,’ we must be vigilant. The spread of fake news seriously undermines the very foundations of our democratic society,” said Han Mino, former media policy officer of South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and representative of the Confucius Institute Truth Promotion Campaign.
The term “Druking incident” refers to a 2016 scandal in which Kim Kyung Soo, a former governor of South Gyeongsang Province and close associate of then-President Moon Jae-in, colluded with a blogger known as “Druking” to manipulate online sentiment. Through automated programs, they artificially inflated reply rankings to boost the candidacy of then-presidential hopeful Moon Jae-in. Kim was eventually sentenced to two years in prison, with the final judgment handed down in 2021.
As South Korea prepares for parliamentary elections set for April of next year, concerns about foreign interference are escalating. As of late August, officials have already raised alarms about the potential for election manipulation by external entities like the CCP and North Korea.
Kim Yongbin, secretary-general of South Korea’s Central Election Management Committee, acknowledged these concerns during a National Assembly meeting on Aug. 31. He stated that the committee has identified associated risks and is proactively implementing preventive measures.
Park Yoon Kyu, the second vice minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, announced on Oct. 5 that the government is in the process of amending relevant laws and systems to combat the malicious use of macros, a type of computer virus that execute code without the user’s knowledge or consent. He emphasized that updating these legal frameworks is critical to blocking foreign entities from causing significant damage to South Korean society.
Han Mino told The Epoch Times that he believes the CCP is clearly behind the phenomenon of falsified public opinion on Korean websites. “South Korea holds a strategic position that the CCP has long sought to influence through various means,” he said.
According to Mr. Han, the CCP’s interference isn’t new. He cited the candlelight protests leading to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye at the end of 2016 as an instance where the CCP had a hand. “Rumors and slander against Park were rampant at the time, and I believe the CCP played a role,” he asserted.
Mr. Han also claimed that the CCP has already begun efforts to manipulate public sentiment ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections. He referenced the large-scale misinformation campaign surrounding Japan’s Fukushima nuclear water discharge as an example. “The campaign sought to fan anti-Japan sentiment in South Korea more than it did in China. Yet, the CCP’s attempts to sway public opinion have not been as effective as in the past,” he concluded.
