The Top Online Concern is 'Gyeom'... Most Searched for 'Yoon Seok-yeol' After the Presidential Election

Citizens are holding a rally in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 7th, after the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol was dismissed in the National Assembly plenary session due to insufficient quorum. Photo by Yonhap News

The 'December 3 Emergency Martial Law Incident' and the impeachment crisis of President Yoon Seok-yeol have emerged as the top interests online.

According to Google Trends search data on the 10th, the words that saw the largest increase in search volume in South Korea from the 2nd to the 9th of this month were 'martial law' and 'Yoon Seok-yeol.' During the week, each term was searched about 500,000 times, representing an increase of over 1000% compared to usual levels.

Among the 25 words with the greatest increase in search volume over the week, 15 were directly related to the December 3 Emergency Martial Law Incident and impeachment. Of these, 'impeachment' was searched about 200,000 times, 'Kim Yong-hyun' and 'Han Dong-hoon' about 100,000 times each, and 'Chu Kyung-ho' and 'Kim Kun-hee' about 50,000 times each.

As rallies related to President Yoon's impeachment continued nationwide, 'cheering sticks' were also searched about 50,000 times, a 200% increase from usual.

On the 4th, Naver recorded the highest search index for 'Yoon Seok-yeol' since the presidential election results were announced on March 10, 2022. The search index represents the relative value at a specific time when the highest search volume during the period is set to 100.

Looking at data compiled by Naver since January 1, 2016, the search index for 'Yoon Seok-yeol' on the 4th was 72.1, ranking third highest after 100 on March 10, 2022, the day after the presidential election, and 88.9 on May 19, 2017, when President Yoon was appointed as the Seoul Central District Prosecutor General during the Moon Jae-in administration.