'Lee Jae-myung Swearing File' Playback Unavailable... Court Orders YouTube Video 'Blocked'

YouTube channel related to Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung, blocked by court order and no longer viewable. Photo by YouTube Backbriefing Channel capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, had a video containing audio of him using profanity blocked by a court order.

YouTube notified the channel operator on the 22nd, stating, "A 'court order' has been received regarding this content," and "The content has been blocked from being viewed on the YouTube site in South Korea." It appears that the court accepted Lee’s side's request for a provisional injunction to make the video private.

As a result, domestic YouTube users cannot view or search for the video. This measure is limited to South Korea; the video remains accessible overseas.

The problematic video was uploaded on the 20th to the YouTube channel 'Baek Briefing' under the title '[Transcript] Lee Jae-myung Profanity File 01.mp4' and is 56 seconds long.

The file contains a recorded phone conversation between Lee, who was the mayor of Seongnam in July 2012, and the wife of his late third brother Lee Jae-seon, who was involved in the 'forced hospitalization attempt of his elder brother' incident. The recording includes profane language such as "Are you going to be investigated, you bad X," "Oh dear, sister-in-law~," "X-shin-like X," "Release this too, record it," and "X-bal X-a."

This YouTube video contains different content from previously known profanity files and quickly spread after being uploaded, surpassing 160,000 views.

The operator of the 'Baek Briefing' channel, 'Baek Chongjae,' expressed regret over YouTube’s blocking action and the court order, stating, "Lee Jae-myung is not an individual but a presidential candidate who must be scrutinized, and the upload of this video was for verification, not for the purpose of criticism," and "I express regret over the court’s decision."

Looking at the videos on the 'Baek Briefing' channel, the operator is evaluated to support Lee Nak-yeon, a former Democratic Party leader and a rival candidate to Lee Jae-myung. However, Choi In-ho, the head of the situation office for Lee Nak-yeon’s campaign, said in a YTN radio interview on the same day, "(Lee Nak-yeon) is completely unrelated to the release of the profanity file," and "It is not right to excessively misunderstand and distrust the opponent, and it would be better to refrain from consistently negative tactics."

Meanwhile, on the 22nd, right after Lee held a press conference at the National Assembly to announce his basic income policy pledge, when reporters asked if he was considering legal action regarding the profanity file, he replied, "What legal action would I take? I did something wrong, so I apologize."