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| Special counsel Huh Ik-bum bows after announcing his team's 60-day investigation into the opinion-rigging scandal at the team's office in Seocho, southern Seoul, Monday. Yonhap |
By Lee Kyung-min
The independent counsel-led team has concluded that South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo, a key aide to President Moon Jae-in, conspired with an influential blogger to manipulate online comments to help then liberal candidate Moon in the lead up to the snap presidential election last May.
Announcing the outcome of its 60-day investigation, the special counsel Huh Ik-bum said, Monday, the blogger, named Druking, initiated developing automated software that could be used to increase the likes and dislikes of online comments after Kim gave him "tacit approval" at a "presentation" of the program at the blogger's office in November 2016, as Druking claims.
"By using the software, Kim, together with the blogger, engaged in election campaigning activities from November 2016 through the presidential election in last May," Huh said at the team's office in Seocho, southern Seoul.
"Druking and a group of his followers sped up developing the software as the presidential election was expected to take place earlier than usual following the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye who was removed from office due to a massive corruption scandal. The group got the software ready for full implementation as early as December 2016."
The team said the blogger's group manipulated about 1,150 comments when they started using the software in November 2016, but the number rose to 24,700 in February last year, when the impeachment proceeding was at its height.
Then it increased nearly 20-fold in just three months to 748,000 in March when the Constitutional Court endorsed Park's impeachment and surpassed well over 7 million in April and May last year.
The conclusion followed a review of about 265 digital devices including computer hard drives and up to 200 cell phones used to help the software function, Huh said.
Druking told the team that his group's efforts were mostly devoted to helping Moon win the snap election, a claim flatly denied by Kim.
The team indicted Kim on charges of obstruction of business as the suspected rigging interfered with online content on the country's two largest portals _ Naver and Daum. It initially sought to arrest him but a local court rejected its request for an arrest warrant, an indication that the probe team will have to provide more concrete evidence in the future legal battle with Kim.
Eleven others, including Druking and his followers, were indicted for their respective involvement in the scandal.
The team also cleared first lady Kim Jung-sook of an allegation that she had knowledge on the illegal online rigging activities, citing a lack of evidence.
The allegation emerged as she mentioned the name of Druking's group in a video clip taken during the election campaigning, saying she would take pictures with the group members. "While she did take pictures with them, it does not prove she was involved in the illicit activities masterminded by Druking," the team said.
