Here is the latest on the Druking online opinion rigging scandal:
Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo
A partisan squabble over an opinion-rigging scandal involving an incumbent governor resumed Thursday as the team of investigators led by special counsel Huh Ik-bum decided not to request an extension of its operating term.
Thirteen special counsel investigations have been carried out in Korea, and Huh is the first not to seek an extension of the team’s term.
The special counsel team’s probe lost momentum after the court rejected its request for a warrant to detain South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo on the suspicion that he colluded with a group led by an influential blogger to manipulate public opinion on the internet.
The special counsel has decided to indict Gov. Kim without detention, saying an extension of the probe is unnecessary as it has collected enough evidence to prove the charges against him.
Main opposition Liberty Korea Party floor leader Kim Sung-tae slammed the decision, vowing to “find out the truth” behind the case through next month’s parliamentary audit and a parliamentary inquiry.
“Everyone knows that Druking’s group and key advisers to the Moon Jae-in administration undermined democracy by manipulating online comments,” Rep. Kim Sung-tae said during a meeting at the National Assembly on Thursday.
Accusing the Moon administration of “incapacitating” the special counsel and criticizing it for not dismissing Seoul police Chief Lee Joo-min who led the initial probe into the case, Rep. Kim called on Huh to change his mind and request an extension before his special investigative rights expire Saturday. [Korea Herald]
This news just continues to justify my belief that the special counsel over the Druking scandal was put together as part of the cover up to protect Kim Kyoung-soo:
Special counsel Huh Ik-bum speaks during a press briefing over the Druking case on July 20, 2018. (Yonhap)
Special prosecutors probing a high-profile political scandal involving an influential blogger and a prominent governor said Wednesday it will not seek to extend their designated term and plans to wrap up the investigation this Saturday.
The team of 87 investigators, led by special counsel Huh Ik-bum, was launched on June 27 after the National Assembly passed a bill on the independent probe into an alleged massive rigging of online news comments.
South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo, then a ruling Democratic Party lawmaker, allegedly conspired with an influential power blogger, known by his nickname Druking, into manipulating comments in online news articles to benefit the DP, between October 2016 and early this year.
Under the law regarding a special prosecution, the special counsel is given an initial two-month term to dig into the case and can seek an additional 30-day term if deemed necessary.
In Wednesday’s press briefing, the special prosecution said it will deliver its official result of the opinion rigging probe next Monday.
Huh has faced criticism that his team is not doing enough to crack the case. Critics have questioned the independence of the special prosecution, saying the fact that the probe is targeting Gov. Kim, a potential presidential candidate who is known for his close ties to President Moon Jae-in.
Huh sought an arrest warrant for Kim earlier this month. The court turned it down citing a lack of reasons for it.
The suicide of Rep. Roh Hoe-chan, a veteran politician from a minor progressive party, over his alleged connection to Druking, is also seen as another factor that has affected the probe. [Yonhap]
With the elimination of the special counsel, now Governor Kim and his left wing political defenders can go around on the now largely left-wing controlled media and claim the special counsel found nothing and Kim has been cleared. The media will probably not point out though that the Special Counsel could not even arrest low level people for questioning much less try to question Governor Kim. The media also likely won’t mention that the Special Counsel was able to only search the office of Governor Kim that had been open for one month. I would not be surprised if the office was opened specifically for the Special Counsel to search and find nothing.
Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo
For those that don’t know Kim Kyoung-soo is a trusted friend and confidant of ROK President Moon Jae-in. The power blogger called Druking alleges that Kim directed his team’s online opinion rigging operation to turn public opinion against liberal rival Ahn Cheol-soo and then conservative rivals during the last presidential election. When Druking’s team did not receive the political payback they had been promised they turned on Kim Kyoung-soo and began targeting President Moon with their opinion rigging software. Once they turned on Moon that is when authorities arrested them, not when they were targeting conservatives.
I have always maintained that Kim Kyoung-soo and others from the Moon administration involved in this scandal would never be held accountable. You can say what you want about the Korean left, but they know how the circle the wagons and protect their own. This is just more evidence of this.
This should serve as a warning to USFK officials that the Korean media now controlled by the political left will make big news out of any USFK crime story they can find, to include one that happened two years ago that they just heard about:
A former U.S. senior airman is serving a 15-year jail sentence for sexually molesting two South Korean male orphans and possessing dozens of child pornography videos, court records showed.
Robert Kelgard, who was stationed at Kunsan Air Base, 270 kilometers south of Seoul, between 2012 and 2013, was convicted by a court-martial in April 2016, Col. John Bosone, the commander of the 8th Fighter Wing at the base, confirmed the information last week in a response to questions from Yonhap News Agency.
Bosone called Kelgard’s crimes “heinous and despicable,” noting that his wrongdoings have resulted in his dishonorable discharge from the Air Force, 15 years of confinement in military prison, total forfeiture of pay and allowance, and demotion.
“As soon as United States Air Force investigators stationed at Kunsan Air Base were made aware of the incidents, they, with Korean National Police, immediately and aggressively investigated the allegations, and Kelgard was militarily prosecuted for his crimes,” the commander said.
“This is a very shameful past moment for Kunsan Air Base and our community,” he added, stressing that the crimes by the “predator” are not reflective of U.S. service members who serve here for the defense of South Korea under an alliance treaty. [Yonhap]
You can read much more at the link, but considering that the molestation crime happened off post the ROK authorities could have asked to prosecute him. However, like we have seen with other incidents ROK authorities have let USFK prosecute servicemembers if the crime does not become well known in the Korean media because the perpetrator for a sex crime receives greater punishment.
A Seoul court on Saturday refused to grant an arrest warrant for South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo over his alleged involvement in a massive opinion-rigging case.
The Seoul Central District Court said the charges against Kim are disputable and that he presents little risk of fleeing given his current position.
Special Counsel Huh Ik-bum has been investigating suspicion that he colluded with Kim Dong-won, better known by his nickname Druking, to manipulate comments in news articles to benefit the ruling Democratic Party.
The special prosecution questioned him twice this month, and filed for the arrest warrant on Wednesday on the charge of digital business obstruction.
He’s accused of artificially jacking up likes on Internet news articles about DP, then main opposition, and its then-presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in in November 2016.
Druking argues he got “a nod” from the governor to carry out the scheme to influence public sentiment in favor of the party. He claims he showed him a demonstration of a computer program designed for such tasks.
Kim has denied the allegations. He admitted he had met Druking at his publishing company office but never saw any presentation about a computer program. [Korea Times]
Like I had previously said, An may have gotten off criminally, but his career is over politically considering 20,000 people were motivated to come out and protest like this:
A protestor holds up a sign of a handcuffed An with the words “guilty” scribbled across his forehead. / Korea Times photo by Park Ji-won
Around 20,000 people rallied in downtown Seoul, Saturday, to protest a court’s recent decision to acquit former South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung of sexually assaulting and harassing his former secretary.
The public anger over the ruling in favor of the fallen political star in a high-profile #MeToo case signals a critical juncture in the months-long movement. The protest organizer expected only up to 2,000 participants.
The crowd, mostly dressed in black and of varying age groups, chanted slogans such as “A judiciary that protects sex offenders is an accomplice,” while holding placards stating, “No country for women” and “We, the survivors, are all Kim Ji-eun” (the alleged victim in An’s case). [Korea Times]
Here is some interesting facts about the case:
When Kim Ji-eun disclosed the sexual offenses by An in March, he first admitted to the crime on Facebook saying, “My office’s statement it was a consensual sexual relationship was wrong. This is all my fault.” However, he changed his statement after an investigation started, saying they had consensual sex.
The Seoul Western District Court ruled last Tuesday there was “insufficient evidence” that the accused used his position of authority to coerce the victim into having unwanted sex, saying the incident did not involve “the degree of physical force that makes it impossible for the victim to resist.” (…….)
In a letter read out to the protesters through her lawyer, Kim Ji-eun also reiterated this point.
“Do I have to kill myself to be recognized as a true #MeToo victim?” Kim’s letter read. “I was physically and sexually assaulted by An that day; I did everything in my power to show I did not want it to happen; I could not run away because I knew that I would be fired.”
Kim also denounced the court proceedings for not questioning An’s testimony.
“Dear judges: Did you ask An why he said sorry to me; why he first wrote on Facebook it was not a consensual relationship; and why he destroyed his phone before the prosecutors got to him? Why did you not question the perpetrator?” Kim said in the letter.
The protesters also said they were frustrated at the court’s failure to recognize the sexual intercourse between the employer and the employee as a rape only because there was no physical coercion or verbal threats. [Korea Times]
Korean Sex Crimes: Sharing the public information of a sex offender = 3 million won fine (£2000~). Sharing the naked pictures of your girlfriend online without her consent = 2 million won fine (£1400~). Laws are fascinating. I should've studied law. #regrets#korea#phdlife
Former Governor and liberal political rival of Moon Jae-in, An Hee-jung has avoided jail time for rape but his political career is probably finished:
A Seoul court has found former South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung not guilty of raping his former secretary.
In one of the highest-profile #MeToo cases here, the Seoul Western District Court said Tuesday there was insufficient evidence that An used his authority to have sexual relations with the plaintiff, Kim Ji-eun, against her will.
“The suspect was an influential politician, was touted as a potential presidential candidate, and, as governor, An had the power to dismiss and hire the victim, which can be seen that he had authority,” the court said. “However, there was no evidence he used that authority to have sexual relations with Kim.”
It said both are adults with intellect and sound judgment, there were no evidence An infringed on the victim’s sexual freedom, and the only evidence was the victim’s testimony.
In April, the 52-year-old politician was indicted for allegedly forcing sexual intercourse on his former secretary four times as well as molesting her on several occasions from mid-2017 to early this year in Seoul and during overseas business trips.
The court also pointed out that there was a lack of evidence of psychological damage which she claimed to have suffered.
“The following morning after the first sexual contact in Russia, Kim searched for a Korean restaurant that An would like. And after returning to Korea, she went to a beauty parlor, which An often visited, to get her hair done,” the court said. “The victim also continuously expressed admiration toward An not only in work-related situations but also when meeting acquaintances unrelated to work, which makes it difficult to accept the victim’s testimony.” [Korea Times]
Unlike the last hostage crisis the ROK was involved in, the Moon administration cannot blame this one on the United States:
A screen grab from a video footage on the Facebook account of a Libyan media outlet, 218 News, Wednesday shows a Korean hostage drinking water in Jabal Hasouna, western Libya. [YONHAP]President Moon Jae-in ordered the use of Korea’s “utmost abilities” and resources to rescue a Korean citizen who has been held by unidentified armed militants in Libya for nearly a month, according to the Blue House Thursday. Three Philippine nationals are also being held.
An anti-piracy unit operating in the Gulf of Aden, which is on a 4,400-ton Korean Navy destroyer, has been deployed to North African waters to lend support.
On July 6, an unidentified armed group entered lodgings for foreign workers at a local water management plant in Jabal Hasouna, western Libya, and abducted the Korean and three Filipinos. They took off with goods as well. A video clip of the hostages was circulated on Facebook on Wednesday, and the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially confirmed later that day that a Korean national was among the four men held in Libya. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but really long time ROK Heads may remember when the Korean missionaries were taken hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan back in 2007, South Korea’s leftists blamed the US for the incident. The Chief of Staff of the left wing Roh Moo-hyun administration in power during this time was current ROK President Moon Jae-in.
Here is the latest update in the Druking online opinion rigging scandal:
This photo shows South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo speaking at a governors’ meeting in the southeastern city of Ulsan on June 26, 2018. (Yonhap)
Special prosecutors raided the residence and office of South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo on Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation into a massive manipulation of online political comments by an arrested power blogger.
Investigators were sent to search the premises in Changwon, 398 kilometers south of the capital, they said.
The blogger, better known as Druking, has been accused of manipulating clicks on Internet news comments to sway public opinion in favor of the ruling Democratic Party.
Kim, who was elected as the governor in the June local elections, allegedly communicated with Druking frequently through untraceable messenger apps. He has denied any involvement in the alleged crime.
Kim is currently on summer vacation and is scheduled to return to office soon, according to his office.
It is the second time the special prosecution sought to search Kim’s workplace and home. They requested the first search warrant to a Seoul court Tuesday and were denied.
Prosecutors are said to have obtained enough evidence to bring Kim in for formal questioning as a suspect by summoning him, possibly over the weekend.
An assistant prosecutor told a press briefing that Kim was cited as an alleged accomplice to Druking in the search warrant.
Kim said on his Facebook page that he could not understand why prosecutors raided his provincial office that opened just about one month ago, but he will cooperate with prosecutors’ investigation. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but how much evidence do the prosecutors think they would find in an office that is a month old? I would not be surprised that this is all to create the appearance that there is nothing linking Kim Kyoung-soo to Druking.
For those that don’t know Kim Kyoung-soo is a trusted friend and confidant of ROK President Moon Jae-in. The power blogger called Druking alleges that Kim directed his team’s online opinion rigging operation to turn public opinion against liberal rival Ahn Cheol-soo and then conservative rivals during the last presidential election. When Druking’s team did not receive the political payback they had been promised they turned on Kim Kyoung-soo and began targeting President Moon with their opinion rigging software. Once they turned on Moon that is when authorities arrested them, not when they were targeting conservatives.
I have always maintained that Kim Kyoung-soo and others from the Moon administration involved in this scandal would never be held accountable. I would not be surprised if this “raid” is not just part of the cover up, I guess we will see.
