Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
DPK leader receives YouTube Gold Play Button
Main opposition leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung's YouTube channel "Lee Jae-myung TV" / Captured from YouTube
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), has received a YouTube Gold Play Button after his online channel passed the 1 million subscribers mark, making him the first Korean politician to reach the milestone on the video-sharing platform.
The Gold Play Button is given to YouTube accounts that reach 1 million subscribers.
“Lee Jae-myung TV,” Lee's channel, had about 1.01 million subscribers as of Sunday, making him eligible for the much-sought-after plaque made of gold-plated brass.
Since he started his YouTube channel on May 14, 2014, he has uploaded a total of 2,711 videos so far. The total views on his channel have surpassed 230 million.
Lawmaker-elect Choo Mi-ae of the DPK congratulated Lee for achieving the feat.
“Given that U.S. President Joe Biden has about 840,000 subscribers and former U.S. President Barack Obama has about 590,000 subscribers, a Korean politician’s YouTube channel surpassing 1 million subscribers is extremely rare and significant,” she wrote on Facebook.
Lee is reportedly preparing an event to thank his subscribers and supporters.