The Druking Comment Manipulation Case... Investigation Triggered by Inter-Korean Unified Team Issue

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The 'Druking Comment Manipulation Case' refers to the incident before the 19th presidential election in 2017, where Kim Dong-won, using the pseudonym 'Druking,' and his associates manipulated public opinion on portal sites in favor of President Moon Jae-in and the Democratic Party of Korea by using a macro (automatic input repetition) program called 'King Crab.' The investigation was triggered when suspicions arose that certain groups manipulated comments to influence public opinion regarding the push for a unified North-South women's ice hockey team just before the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. At that time, Choo Mi-ae, then leader of the Democratic Party and former Minister of Justice, criticized Naver for "neglecting fake news," prompting Naver to request a police investigation.

During the investigation, the police conducted a search and seizure of the office of the 'Economic Co-Prosperity Group (Gyeonggongmo)' led by Kim and made emergency arrests of related individuals. Subsequently, evidence of collusion emerged, including visits by Kim Kyung-soo, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, to the Gyeonggongmo office. Notably, Kim Dong-won revealed from prison that he demonstrated King Crab in front of Governor Kim, raising the possibility of organized involvement by the ruling party. Ultimately, a special prosecutor law was passed in the National Assembly, and in June 2018, a special prosecutor team led by Heo Ik-beom was formed to investigate the case. After about two months of investigation, the special prosecutor concluded that Governor Kim was an accomplice of Druking and indicted him on charges of computer-related obstruction of business and violation of the Public Official Election Act. Druking and his associates, who had previously been indicted by the prosecution for manipulating public opinion on Pyeongchang articles, were also additionally indicted.

Kim Dong-won was found guilty of conspiring to manipulate comments and was sentenced to three years in prison by the Supreme Court in January last year. Governor Kim was sentenced to two years in prison for computer-related obstruction of business by the first-instance court in January 2019, the same day as Kim Dong-won, and was taken into custody. He received a suspended sentence for the Public Official Election Act violation charge. Governor Kim was released on bail during the appeal trial and continued to stand trial without detention. The sentencing was delayed, and the trial was significantly postponed due to the replacement of the presiding judge. After 20 months of hearings, the appellate court found Governor Kim guilty of obstruction of business and sentenced him to two years in prison. Regarding the Public Official Election Act, the court acquitted him legally but criticized him morally and ethically. On the 21st, the Supreme Court upheld the appellate court's ruling, confirming Governor Kim's two-year prison sentence.