Kim Moon-soo of the Democratic Party of Korea said the results of the public opinion poll conducted at the Democratic Party convention on Aug. 17 were tainted by some YouTubers supporting former leader Jung Chung-rae, and he urged an investigation into the related suspicions and punishment of those responsible.
Lawmakers Kim and Kim Han-me, standing representative of the Citizens' Action for Establishing Judicial Justice, held a press conference at the National Assembly on the morning of the 27th and said, "In the public opinion poll, unlike the results of the regional tour vote, candidate Lee Seong-yoon, who had been placing fifth or sixth, suddenly came in first," adding, "Only 'Team Jung Chung-rae' ended up showing favorably high numbers."
They said, "During the two days of the public opinion poll for the convention, on the 14th and 15th of last month, a YouTube channel with more than 500,000 subscribers and about 10,000 concurrent viewers broadcast remarks such as 'Seoul and Gyeonggi are full, so choose Gangwon or North Gyeongsang,' and 'It has to be people in their 20s or 30s,' urging false responses by faking region and age."
They added, "Countless party members with voting rights and citizens cannot contain their shock that such criminal acts could be carried out openly during a live broadcast."
Meeting reporters right after the briefing, they also said, "They broadcast in advance to prepare, saying things like 'Unblock numbers starting with 080 and 02,' and they even knew those numbers."
They said, "Only an immediate fact-finding investigation into the illegality and foul play committed in the convention's public opinion poll, along with corresponding severe punishment and discipline, is the sole way to restore the legitimacy of the proud Democratic Party," urging "swift criminal complaints and disciplinary action at the party level."