Kim Min-seok of the Democratic Party of Korea on the 30th ordered the party's Ethics Inspection Team to conduct an emergency inspection of Lee Jong-won, operator of the YouTube channel "SisaTapa," which has been accused of manipulating opinion polls during the party convention.
Kim said that in the afternoon on X (formerly Twitter), "Regarding the dispute over opinion poll manipulation during the convention by SisaTapa's Lee Jong-won, I confirmed that Lee is a party member and issued a special directive to the Ethics Inspection Team to conduct an emergency inspection and report whether an emergency disciplinary action is necessary."
Lee is suspected of having, during the Democratic Party convention on the 14th-15th, when a public opinion poll accounting for 30% of the party leader election result was conducted, used his broadcast to induce viewers to respond using regions or age groups different from reality. However, it has not been confirmed to what extent this conduct actually affected the poll results.
Kim had publicly raised the issue at the Supreme Council meeting on the 24th. At the time, Kim said, "We will begin a party-level legal review regarding the recently pointed out behavior of some YouTubers that is expected to constitute obstruction of business by fraud, such as convention poll manipulation, and violations of the Political Parties Act." After Lee was confirmed to be a Democratic Party member, Kim went further and ordered a review of party-level inspection and disciplinary procedures, separate from any external legal review.
Kim also personally explained the nature of the Democratic Party's official YouTube channel "Democratic Party TV," which is set to air its first program on the 1st of next month.
Kim said, "Minty (Democratic Party TV) is the Democratic Party's official media that sets the official political and policy line and the framework for government publicity for the Democratic Party and the reform camp," adding, "The party's official line will be delivered to the public and party members through the official representative's face and voice."
On its relationship with existing pro-ruling-party YouTube channels, Kim said, "Democratic Party TV is the textbook; other broadcasts are the workbooks," adding, "Entertainment, explanations, and other program variety will continue to be handled by the existing diverse private media." Kim added, "There will be no competition, and there will be much cooperation."
The launch of Democratic Party TV is a project Kim ordered publicly three days after being elected party leader. At the time, Kim said, "All the party's news should begin with a dawn broadcast on Democratic Party TV."
The first broadcast of Democratic Party TV will air for one hour from 7 a.m. on the 1st of next month. Until the program finds its footing, Kim will appear as a fixed guest in the first segment. The broadcast time is the same as the live slot for the YouTube program "Modesty Is Difficult News Factory," hosted by Kim Ou-joon.
In the meantime, Democratic Party lawmakers have appeared one after another on pro-ruling-party YouTube channels, including Kim Ou-joon's program, to explain their positions on current issues and internal party matters. Accordingly, some interpreted the launch of Democratic Party TV as an effort to strengthen the party's official channel and reduce reliance on outside YouTube outlets.
Kim drew a line on the day, saying there was no intent to compete with private channels, and distinguished the roles of Democratic Party TV and existing pro-ruling-party YouTube channels.