Special counsel obtains key evidence in opinion-rigging scandal

By Lee Kyung-min

South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo is expected to be questioned soon, as the independent counsel team investigating an online opinion-rigging scandal involving him obtained a USB flash drive in which evidence against him is believed to be stored. The team led by special counsel Huh Ik-bum said Wednesday a power blogger nicknamed Druking, the key figure in the scandal, submitted the password-locked digital storage device to the team last week during questioning.

According to the team, the blogger had about 60GB of data transferred from his computer hard drives into the flash drive and asked one of his compatriots to “keep it safe” on March 19, two days before he was taken into police custody. Druking helped the investigators access the stored data by providing the password.

The data included the full text of communication records exchanged between Kim and group members through Signal, an encrypted communications app, as well as Druking’s daily journals, reports made to Kim on specified maneuvers to manipulate online comments, and records of the blogger contact with other politicians. After finishing analyzing the data, the team is expected to summon Kim for questioning over his alleged involvement.

The team will also continue questioning other key suspects in the scandal including a man surnamed Park, a key developer and operator of the opinion-rigging software. Park attended a meeting where the group members allegedly gave a “presentation” to Kim on how the software worked in October 2016.

Investigators plan to question the blogger soon upon completing the review of the stored data. Kim could be questioned, depending on the degree of the involvement suspected. They are expected to grill Park over whether Kim attended the presentation and whether other higher-profile figures were involved including members of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.

The scandal emerged in April after the blogger was arrested over suspicion that his group used illegal software to boost Moon’s popularity in the lead up to the presidential election in May last year, hoping for a reward for their organized months-long campaigning efforts. But further investigation uncovered that they used the same tools to disparage Moon after Kim dismissed the blogger’s request that a lawyer surnamed Do, a key member of the group, be appointed as consul general of Korea in Osaka, Japan.