"Rather Call the Tanghulu Craze 'China Gate'..."

Controversy Over Chinese Support 'Public Opinion Manipulation'... Ruling Party Raises Issue
Opposition Says "Suddenly Ideological Debate Calling It a Left-Wing Portal"

The government has formed a task force and taken measures in response to allegations of public opinion manipulation on the portal site 'Daum's' Hangzhou Asian Games football cheering page. The ruling party has defined the unusually high proportion of cheering for China, rather than Korea, on Korean portals as an attempt to manipulate public opinion, claiming that similar incidents could occur during next year's general election. However, the Democratic Party of Korea views this as an attempt to politicize the portal by dragging it into ideological disputes.

On the 1st of this month, during the Korea-China football match at the Hangzhou Asian Games, the proportion of cheering for China on Daum's cheering page temporarily exceeded 90%, sparking controversy. Kakao analyzed the number of clicks supporting China at the time and identified that two overseas IPs used macro (automation) programs to cause this phenomenon.

Regarding this, Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, posted on Facebook on the 4th, stating, "With only six months left until next year's general election, there is an unavoidable concern that the roots of the public opinion manipulation group 'Druking' are infiltrating everywhere and plotting mischief," and claimed, "It cannot be denied that the portal Daum is playing the role of a host for public opinion manipulation."

Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 25th of last month. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

He added, "Especially since this happened on a portal site with a strong left-wing inclination, it raises serious concerns about whether the specter of public opinion manipulation is being revived ahead of next year's general election," and said, "Even at this moment, there is a strong suspicion that somewhere, operations are being carried out to manipulate public opinion and overturn election results, and this suspicion is not unfounded."

On the other hand, the Democratic Party criticized the ruling party for spreading a 'public opinion manipulation conspiracy theory.' Hong Ik-pyo, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said in an interview with SBS Radio on the 5th, "The ruling party should not get excited but rather ascertain the facts, identify the problems, and find solutions," and pointed out, "It is inappropriate to immediately frame this as a left-wing portal issue, drag it into ideological disputes, or escalate it into foreign relations."

The Justice Party also joined the criticism. Lee Jae-rang, spokesperson, said in a briefing at the National Assembly communication office on the 4th, "Regarding this incident, the ruling party talks about 'China-origin public opinion manipulation,' 'North Korean involvement,' and even 'China Gate,' but they have not presented any evidence or circumstances indicating that a specific country manipulated public opinion," and criticized, "They are raising their voices first without any evidence or circumstances, and if that's the case, it would be more convincing to call the Tanghulu craze 'China Gate' instead."