In 2021, Lee Nak-yon, a senior advisor of the New Future Democratic Party who was accused of manipulating online news comments during the Democratic Party of Korea presidential primary, was cleared of all charges by the police.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Cyber Investigation Unit stated on the 7th that it decided not to forward the case against Lee, who faced charges of obstructing business operations, due to insufficient evidence.
Lee and officials from his campaign were accused of using dozens of portal Daum accounts to post comments containing unfavorable content about then-rival President Lee Jae-myung during the presidential primary and manipulating the number of likes on those comments.
However, the police sent a person surnamed Park, a supporter of Lee, to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, stating that charges against him were substantiated.
Earlier, Kim Min-seok, a council member from Gangseo District in Seoul, filed a complaint against Lee and campaign officials with the Central District Prosecutors' Office in May 2023, and the prosecution transferred the case to the police. At that time, Councilman Kim also reported that the comment manipulation appeared to be carried out at the level of the Democratic Party and accused President Lee, but the police dismissed the case against President Lee. Dismissal refers to the conclusion of a case without review when the requirements are not met.