Rising 'Judicial Risk' for Lee Jae-myung, 80% Increase in Online 'Negative' Searches

Big Data Analysis 'SomeTrend' Shows High Proportion of Negative Searches Including Crime, Suspicion, and Charges Over 3 Months
Maintains Around 20,000 Cases Since Start of Seizure and Search

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] As the prosecution's investigation into Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, continues, negative public opinion appears to be high online. In particular, search terms centered on allegations and suspicions involving him and his close associates ranked high. Recently, the related search term ‘Lee Nak-yeon’ appeared, suggesting a role for former leader Lee Nak-yeon.

Asia Economy analyzed search data related to Lee from blogs, Twitter, Instagram, and internet communities over three months from August 29 to September 28 using the big data analysis platform SomeTrend by Eve Company (formerly Daumsoft). During this period, the average proportion of negative searches was 79.9%. Positive searches accounted for 18.2%, and neutral searches were 1.9%.

Most of the top positive and negative search terms were related to recent investigations. Notably, two of the top ten terms were negative search words: ‘crime’ (6,492 cases), ‘suspicion’ (5,620 cases), ‘charges’ (4,711 cases), and ‘disaster’ (3,466 cases). These terms surged sharply in the third week of last month when searches and seizures began targeting Lee’s close associates, such as Kim Yong, deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, and Jeong Jin-sang, chief political coordinator of the party leader’s office. The terms surged again recently as investigations into Lee himself are anticipated.

On the other hand, two positive search terms ranked within the top ten: ‘support’ (3,309 cases) and ‘doing well’ (1,518 cases). While negative public opinion is rising, support for Lee also remains high.

The volume of online mentions of Lee has remained in the 20,000 range over the past month. It was in the 10,000 range at the beginning of last month but surged past 30,000 during the third week’s search and seizure period. Since then, it has gradually declined and stabilized in the 20,000 range. Compared to about 10,000 mentions three months ago in August, this indicates a sustained high level.

In the related search terms for Lee, former leader Lee Nak-yeon newly appeared. In the ranking for the last week of this month, ‘Lee Nak-yeon’ recorded 90 searches, adding it to the list. This is analyzed as a result of the recent emphasis on Lee’s judicial risks, which has reignited discussions about the role of former leader Lee Nak-yeon.