By Kang Seung-woo
A conservative online forum Tuesday denied an accusation that it is sponsored by the nation’s spy agency.
The denial comes a day after Rep. Park Young-sun of the main opposition Democratic Party claimed in the parliamentary investigative committee that the National Intelligence Service (NIS) is behind the website Ilbe, which provides a forum for conservative and right-wing netizens.
The committee is looking into allegations that the NIS meddled in last year's presidential election, posting material online in favor of the ruling party.
“Despite enduring a financial deficit, Ilbe has never received sponsorship from any government organization,” UBH, the Ilbe operator, said in a statement.
“We were hit by a series of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, but there was no government aid.”
Park, a three-term lawmaker, said, “There are suspicions that the NIS is financially supporting the site, given that it didn’t earn profits from advertisement.”
She added that operating the server costs tens of millions of won.
In addition, Park showed a picture showing those who participated in NIS-organized security education getting on a bus and said that some of them were members of the site.
However, the operator countered, saying, “This should be praised, not criticized.”
NIS Chief Nam Jae-joon also said that Park’s accusation is “groundless.”
The website (www.ilbe.com) was set up in 2010 and is expanding its fan base rapidly among conservative Internet users, attracting as many as 100 million hits per month.
However, Ilbe, which means the best postings of the day, is criticized by some quarters for leaning too far to the right, fabricating stories, making false accusations and posting sensational stories.