"China's Internet Influence: Controversy Surrounding Daum Portal's Chinese Suppo

On the 3rd, the presidential office addressed concerns from the public regarding the alleged manipulation of public opinion on the Daum portal's Hangzhou Asian Games support page, stating that there is validity to concerns about distorted public sentiment.
 

Furthermore, he stated, "The suspicions of portal-based manipulation of public opinion must be thoroughly investigated, and the entire case must be revealed and subject to legal judgment," and concluded by saying, "We will prepare measures, including legislation, to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the near future."

 
The controversy arose when, during the round of 16 match between South Korea and China at the Hangzhou Asian Games, the percentage of clicks supporting the Chinese team on Daum's support page reached 91%, raising eyebrows.
 
In relation to this issue, a representative from the presidential office met with reporters and stated, "We are aware that there are concerns among the public that the sentiment is being distorted. There is validity to such concerns."
 
On the 1st of this month, during the round of 16 match between South Korea and China at the Asian Games, the number of clicks in support of China on Daum reached 20 million, accounting for 91% of the total. In contrast, clicks in support of South Korea amounted to 2 million, or 9% of the total.

 
Daum operated both "click support," which displays support without any restrictions on the number of clicks and "comment support," which requires logging in and leaving comments to show support.
 
With a significant number of South Koreans using Daum, the high response supporting China led to suspicions that Chinese individuals may have intentionally intervened. As the controversy grew, Daum temporarily suspended its click support service.
 
The main opposition party, the People Power Party, commented on this issue, stating that it proves the danger of manipulation of public opinion being possible "anytime, anywhere."

 
Kang Min-guk, the chief spokesperson, expressed concerns that "We cannot dismiss suspicions that a considerable number of overseas forces may have entered the country using an IP address workaround through portals operated by our companies" and pointed out, "Although it is currently just manipulation of the number of support clicks, it has been clearly confirmed that entry into portals by forces with special intentions may be possible in the future."
 
Chief Spokesperson Kang stated, "Even if it is claimed that the Chinese cheering squad clicked in a coordinated manner, 99% of the support comments were Korean." He also pointed out, "In the case of another domestic portal, Naver, 94% or 5.6 million clicks supported South Korea."
 
He went on to say, "Portal-based manipulation of public sentiment can deceive the eyes and ears of voters, and incorrect choices resulting from this can threaten the entire Republic of Korea," and emphasized, "As seen in the 'Druking incident' and the 'Newstapa false interview,' public opinion manipulation has led to interference in elections."

 
Furthermore, he stated, "The suspicions of portal-based manipulation of public opinion must be thoroughly investigated, and the entire case must be revealed and subject to legal judgment," and concluded by saying, "We will prepare measures, including legislation, to ensure that such incidents do not recur in the near future."