I wonder what the backroom deal was to get this pardon for one of President Moon’s good friends?:
President Yoon Suk Yeol granted a special pardon to former South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo, Tuesday, on the occasion of Aug. 15 Liberation Day, reinstating his eligibility to run for a public post.
The decision to pardon Kim, a prominent figure in the liberal bloc, was made despite opposition from some members of the ruling party. Critics argue that it is inappropriate to allow Kim, who was convicted and served a jail term for manipulating online opinions leading up to the 2017 presidential election, to run for public office again.
Yoon also pardoned several former senior presidential officials during the Park Geun-hye administration who were jailed in a massive corruption scandal involving the former president.
The Cabinet approved the pardon plan, which was endorsed by Yoon. In total, 1,219 people received a special pardon, including small business owners, self-employed individuals, and those convicted of crimes arising from financial difficulties.
You can read more at the link and I recommend reading my below post for more information about the Druking scandal that happened back in 2017. This is an example of why you have to be careful in trusting opinion polls.
South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo was released Wednesday after 77 days of detention over his role in a massive rigging of online opinions. The Seoul High Court approved Kim’s request for bail but attached a condition under which he should only stay in his residence in Changwon, 400 kilometers south of Seoul. Kim, known as a confidant of President Moon Jae-in, was sentenced to two years in prison in January for colluding with a power blogger to carry out an illicit cyber operation to sway public opinion in favor of Moon ahead of the 2017 presidential election. “(I) will prove once and for all that truth will come around no matter how far it is thrown away,” he told reporters. “(I) will reveal the truth through an appeals trial.” Kim, 51, earlier requested the bail on the grounds that the provincial government suffered a setback in doing its work due to his absence. For the 200 million-won (US$176,025) bail, the court ordered him to pay half of the amount in cash. Kim received the two-year jail term for collusion with the power blogger, better known by his nickname, Druking, to artificially jack up the number of likes of Internet comments on sensitive political news to benefit the ruling Democratic Party (DP), the then main opposition party, and its presidential candidate Moon ahead of the 2017 elections. Moon won the snap election in May, replacing former President Park Geun-hye, who was ousted from office in March 2017 over a corruption scandal.
You can read more at the link, but the excuse that the provincial government could not work effectively because he is in jail is one of the lamest excuses I have heard yet. Would any other criminal be let out of prison early because their work place suffered a setback with that person’s absence?
A special prosecutor team led by Huh Ik-bum has demanded a five-year prison term for South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo over his alleged involvement in an online opinion rigging scandal.
At the final hearing on Friday, the team said Kim acted like a deviant politician by mobilizing a private group that engages in illegal acts and using public posts as bargaining chips for elections.
Kim, a close aide to President Moon Jae-in, is accused of approving a blogger and his associates’ development of a computer program called “King Crab,” which could be used to manipulate the number of likes for online comments.
The special counsel team believes Kim colluded with the blogger known as “druking” to manipulate comments on news articles with the program to benefit the ruling Democratic Party, then the opposition party, in the run-up to last year’s presidential election.
The Special Counsel for the Druking online opinion rigging scandal, has very bluntly said that the ruling party led by current Governor Kim Kyoung-soo manipulated online comments before the last presidential election. The challenge will be actually convicting Governor Kim since he is a close friend of President Moon Jae-in who he helped elect:
Special prosecutor Huh Ik-bum speaks during a press conference announcing the results of the two-month probe into alleged opinion rigging involving a power blogger and South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo at the special prosecution’s office in southern Seoul on Aug. 27, 2018. (Yonhap)
The suspected massive opinion rigging led by a political blogger was ultimately aimed at influencing public sentiment in favor of the now-ruling Democratic Party in the run-up to last year’s presidential election, special prosecutors said Monday.
Special counsel Huh Ik-bum announced the result of the 60-day investigation into the alleged manipulation of online comments by the blogger Kim Dong-won, known as Druking, and his crew, which also implicated South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo as a possible co-conspirator.
The team of 87 investigators was launched on June 27 upon the National Assembly’s passage of a bill on the independent probe. Suspicions have centered on Druking and Gov. Kim, then a ruling DP lawmaker, for allegedly working together to jack up “like” clicks for comments on Internet news articles to benefit the DP beginning in November 2016 and in the lead-up to the 2017 presidential election. [Yonhap]
Here is the latest on the Druking online opinion rigging scandal:
Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo
A partisan squabble over an opinion-rigging scandal involving an incumbent governor resumed Thursday as the team of investigators led by special counsel Huh Ik-bum decided not to request an extension of its operating term.
Thirteen special counsel investigations have been carried out in Korea, and Huh is the first not to seek an extension of the team’s term.
The special counsel team’s probe lost momentum after the court rejected its request for a warrant to detain South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo on the suspicion that he colluded with a group led by an influential blogger to manipulate public opinion on the internet.
The special counsel has decided to indict Gov. Kim without detention, saying an extension of the probe is unnecessary as it has collected enough evidence to prove the charges against him.
Main opposition Liberty Korea Party floor leader Kim Sung-tae slammed the decision, vowing to “find out the truth” behind the case through next month’s parliamentary audit and a parliamentary inquiry.
“Everyone knows that Druking’s group and key advisers to the Moon Jae-in administration undermined democracy by manipulating online comments,” Rep. Kim Sung-tae said during a meeting at the National Assembly on Thursday.
Accusing the Moon administration of “incapacitating” the special counsel and criticizing it for not dismissing Seoul police Chief Lee Joo-min who led the initial probe into the case, Rep. Kim called on Huh to change his mind and request an extension before his special investigative rights expire Saturday. [Korea Herald]
This news just continues to justify my belief that the special counsel over the Druking scandal was put together as part of the cover up to protect Kim Kyoung-soo:
Special counsel Huh Ik-bum speaks during a press briefing over the Druking case on July 20, 2018. (Yonhap)
Special prosecutors probing a high-profile political scandal involving an influential blogger and a prominent governor said Wednesday it will not seek to extend their designated term and plans to wrap up the investigation this Saturday.
The team of 87 investigators, led by special counsel Huh Ik-bum, was launched on June 27 after the National Assembly passed a bill on the independent probe into an alleged massive rigging of online news comments.
South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo, then a ruling Democratic Party lawmaker, allegedly conspired with an influential power blogger, known by his nickname Druking, into manipulating comments in online news articles to benefit the DP, between October 2016 and early this year.
Under the law regarding a special prosecution, the special counsel is given an initial two-month term to dig into the case and can seek an additional 30-day term if deemed necessary.
In Wednesday’s press briefing, the special prosecution said it will deliver its official result of the opinion rigging probe next Monday.
Huh has faced criticism that his team is not doing enough to crack the case. Critics have questioned the independence of the special prosecution, saying the fact that the probe is targeting Gov. Kim, a potential presidential candidate who is known for his close ties to President Moon Jae-in.
Huh sought an arrest warrant for Kim earlier this month. The court turned it down citing a lack of reasons for it.
The suicide of Rep. Roh Hoe-chan, a veteran politician from a minor progressive party, over his alleged connection to Druking, is also seen as another factor that has affected the probe. [Yonhap]
With the elimination of the special counsel, now Governor Kim and his left wing political defenders can go around on the now largely left-wing controlled media and claim the special counsel found nothing and Kim has been cleared. The media will probably not point out though that the Special Counsel could not even arrest low level people for questioning much less try to question Governor Kim. The media also likely won’t mention that the Special Counsel was able to only search the office of Governor Kim that had been open for one month. I would not be surprised if the office was opened specifically for the Special Counsel to search and find nothing.
Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo
For those that don’t know Kim Kyoung-soo is a trusted friend and confidant of ROK President Moon Jae-in. The power blogger called Druking alleges that Kim directed his team’s online opinion rigging operation to turn public opinion against liberal rival Ahn Cheol-soo and then conservative rivals during the last presidential election. When Druking’s team did not receive the political payback they had been promised they turned on Kim Kyoung-soo and began targeting President Moon with their opinion rigging software. Once they turned on Moon that is when authorities arrested them, not when they were targeting conservatives.
I have always maintained that Kim Kyoung-soo and others from the Moon administration involved in this scandal would never be held accountable. You can say what you want about the Korean left, but they know how the circle the wagons and protect their own. This is just more evidence of this.
A Seoul court on Saturday refused to grant an arrest warrant for South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo over his alleged involvement in a massive opinion-rigging case.
The Seoul Central District Court said the charges against Kim are disputable and that he presents little risk of fleeing given his current position.
Special Counsel Huh Ik-bum has been investigating suspicion that he colluded with Kim Dong-won, better known by his nickname Druking, to manipulate comments in news articles to benefit the ruling Democratic Party.
The special prosecution questioned him twice this month, and filed for the arrest warrant on Wednesday on the charge of digital business obstruction.
He’s accused of artificially jacking up likes on Internet news articles about DP, then main opposition, and its then-presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in in November 2016.
Druking argues he got “a nod” from the governor to carry out the scheme to influence public sentiment in favor of the party. He claims he showed him a demonstration of a computer program designed for such tasks.
Kim has denied the allegations. He admitted he had met Druking at his publishing company office but never saw any presentation about a computer program. [Korea Times]
Here is the latest update in the Druking online opinion rigging scandal:
This photo shows South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo speaking at a governors’ meeting in the southeastern city of Ulsan on June 26, 2018. (Yonhap)
Special prosecutors raided the residence and office of South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo on Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation into a massive manipulation of online political comments by an arrested power blogger.
Investigators were sent to search the premises in Changwon, 398 kilometers south of the capital, they said.
The blogger, better known as Druking, has been accused of manipulating clicks on Internet news comments to sway public opinion in favor of the ruling Democratic Party.
Kim, who was elected as the governor in the June local elections, allegedly communicated with Druking frequently through untraceable messenger apps. He has denied any involvement in the alleged crime.
Kim is currently on summer vacation and is scheduled to return to office soon, according to his office.
It is the second time the special prosecution sought to search Kim’s workplace and home. They requested the first search warrant to a Seoul court Tuesday and were denied.
Prosecutors are said to have obtained enough evidence to bring Kim in for formal questioning as a suspect by summoning him, possibly over the weekend.
An assistant prosecutor told a press briefing that Kim was cited as an alleged accomplice to Druking in the search warrant.
Kim said on his Facebook page that he could not understand why prosecutors raided his provincial office that opened just about one month ago, but he will cooperate with prosecutors’ investigation. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but how much evidence do the prosecutors think they would find in an office that is a month old? I would not be surprised that this is all to create the appearance that there is nothing linking Kim Kyoung-soo to Druking.
For those that don’t know Kim Kyoung-soo is a trusted friend and confidant of ROK President Moon Jae-in. The power blogger called Druking alleges that Kim directed his team’s online opinion rigging operation to turn public opinion against liberal rival Ahn Cheol-soo and then conservative rivals during the last presidential election. When Druking’s team did not receive the political payback they had been promised they turned on Kim Kyoung-soo and began targeting President Moon with their opinion rigging software. Once they turned on Moon that is when authorities arrested them, not when they were targeting conservatives.
I have always maintained that Kim Kyoung-soo and others from the Moon administration involved in this scandal would never be held accountable. I would not be surprised if this “raid” is not just part of the cover up, I guess we will see.
Park Sang-yung, a member of a special prosecutor team investigating an opinion rigging scandal, talks to reporters after arriving at the team’s office in Seoul on July 20, 2018. A court on the night before rejected the team’s request for a writ, the first by the special prosecutor, to arrest a lawyer implicated in the scandal, dealing a setback to the probe. (Yonhap)
A special counsel team sought an arrest warrant for a lawyer surnamed Do, 61, a key figure in the “opinion-rigging” scandal masterminded by an influential blogger who went by the nickname “Druking.”
Druking and his followers initially used software to boost the popularity of Moon Jae-in in the lead up to the presidential election last May, hoping their “successful months-long campaigning efforts” would be “rewarded.” But after Kim Kyoung-soo, Moon’s key aide and now governor of South Gyeongsang Province, dismissed the blogger’s recommendation to appoint Do as the consul general of Korea in Osaka, they used the same tools to disparage Moon. Do, one of seven members in the group of followers, is suspected of offering legal consultation as well as controlling the group’s activities overall.
The team led by special counsel Huh Ik-bum sought an arrest warrant for Do on charges of violating the Political Campaign Fund Law and destroying evidence. Assistant special counsel Park Sang-yong said the team believed Do helped Druking meet with Rep. Roh Hoe-chan, the floor leader of the minor opposition Justice Party, and gave him 50 million won ($48,000) in illicit campaign funds. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but a judge denied the prosecutors request to arrest Do:
A Seoul court on Thursday denied the special prosecutors’ request to arrest a lawyer linked to an opinion rigging scandal on charges he gave illegal political funds to a prominent opposition lawmaker.
The 61-year-old suspect, identified only by his surname, Do, is under suspicion of being involved in setting up a meeting between a political power blogger known as Druking and Rep. Roh Hoe-chan of the Justice Party in 2016 to deliver 50 million won (US$44,500) to Roh. [Yonhap]
Does anyone think this will be a fair and transparent investigation or is the fix in?:
Special counsel Huh Ik-bum (Yonhap)
President Moon Jae-in appointed a special counsel Thursday to investigate a opinion rigging scandal that involves one of his confidants.
Moon named prosecutor-turned-lawyer Huh Ik-Bum as a special prosecutor, his office Cheong Wa Dae said.
The appointment came three days after Huh was named one of two candidates by opposition parties as required by the law on the special counsel.
“President Moon will present special counsel Huh with a certificate of appointment on Friday,” Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told a press briefing. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but the special counsel has 90 days to report their findings.
