It is interesting that the authorities are going after the wife of a political rival for allegedly spreading rumors online, but a coordinated online opinion rigging scandal for the President of Korea they quietly let go away:
The police have determined that a disputed Twitter account that spread false election rumors belongs to the wife of Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung.
The cyber unit at Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said Saturday that it will ask prosecutors early next week to indict Kim Hye-gyeong on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.
A police official said details will not be disclosed to the media as Kim denies the charges and a legal battle is expected.
False information was posted on the Twitter account in question in April during the ruling Democratic Party’s primary race for the Gyeonggi governorship. The claim was damaging to her husband’s rival candidate.
The account also falsely claimed in late 2016 that then presidential hopeful Moon Jae-in’s son received employment favors.
The police analyzed some 40-thousand Tweets to identify the account’s owner and concluded that it belongs to the governor’s wife. [KBS World Radio]
