Prosecutors search Gov. Kim's home and office
Special prosecutors search the office of South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo, Thursday. / Yonhap
By Kim Hyun-bin
Special prosecutors searched the office and residence of South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo, Thursday, as part of an ongoing investigation into a massive online opinion rigging scandal run by a power blogger known as Druking..
Kim, who was elected governor in the June local elections allegedly frequently contacted Druking through messenger applications such as Telegram that are untraceable. However, the governor denied any involvement in the scanda.
Druking, real name Kim Dong-won, has been arrested for manipulating clicks and commenting on news articles in favor of the then Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate Moon Jae-in during the presidential election.
Prosecutors suspect Kim worked closely with Druking's group to increase the number of likes and comments on online news articles.
They are accused of creating over 1.84 million repeated comments on 537 news articles using 2,286 Naver accounts.
Special prosecutors led by Huh Ik-bum also obtained information that Druking was asked to help the governor during the June 13 local elections.
According to the Hankook Ilbo, Thursday, prosecutors have obtained a testimony from Druking that Kim asked for help during the local elections, but it is unclear if Kim was requesting help for the ruling DPK in general or for himself.
Prosecutors are said to have obtained enough evidence to summon the governor for formal questioning, which could come as early as this weekend.
Prosecutors are expected to summon Kim for online opinion rigging and violation of Public Official Election Act.
According to his office, Kim is currently on summer vacation but is scheduled to return soon.
Special prosecutors asked for a search warrant for Kim's workplace and home but the first request was denied by a Seoul court, Tuesday.
In Nov. 2016, Kim was allegedly shown a demonstration of a computer system designed to rig comments by Druking's team. The governor gave the green light to initiate the rigging and was briefed about the situation regularly.
Druking turned his back on the ruling party, allegedly after the presidential office refused his personnel appointment requests. He demanded an acquaintance be appointed to a consul-general post in Osaka, Japan, in return for his online activities in support of Moon during the presidential election campaign.
The allegations have become a hot topic as Kim is known for his close ties with President Moon.