Kim Min-seok, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, has ordered an emergency internal investigation into the operator of a YouTube channel accused of manipulating a preference poll for party leadership candidates during the Aug. 17 convention.
"Regarding the dispute over manipulation of the convention poll involving Mr. Lee Jong-won of Sisa Tapa, I have issued a special instruction to confirm that Mr. Lee is a party member and to have the Ethics Inspection Team report, through an emergency inspection, whether emergency disciplinary action is necessary," Kim said on the 30th on his X account, formerly Twitter.
The channel operator has faced allegations that he instructed viewers to respond with regions and age groups different from their own in a public opinion survey that accounted for 30% of the party leadership election results during the convention. The Democratic Party believes such conduct, if confirmed, could undermine the fairness of its internal primary.
Kim also raised the possibility of legal action over the allegations at a supreme council meeting on the 24th of this month. "We will begin a party-level legal review of the recently criticized conduct of some YouTubers, which is expected to constitute obstruction of business by deception and violations of the Political Parties Act, including manipulation of the convention poll," he said at the time.
The inspection order follows the party-level legal review and represents a move to directly verify both the operator's party membership and the need for disciplinary action. The Democratic Party's Ethics Inspection Team is expected to determine whether to impose discipline after examining whether the operator's actions violated party regulations.
