‘National Power Bulletin Board’ posts criticizing the president and his wife amplify the scandal… Hong: ‘We need to request an investigation’

Supreme Council member Kim Min-jeon and Rep. Kim Mi-ae “Prompt inspection of party affairs“
Police are tracking the author of a post that mentioned the possibility of harming the president

Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo’s Facebook post posted on the 12th.

The scandal is spreading as it was confirmed that crude criticism of President Yoon Seok-yeol and his wife were posted repeatedly over a long period of time on the ruling party’s bulletin board. Even within the party, orders are pouring in to respond strongly by requesting an investigation into party affairs.

Recently, the People Power Party member bulletin board sparked controversy as hundreds of posts containing explicit criticism and profanity toward President Yoon and his wife were confirmed. Only those who are People Power Party members and have undergone real name verification can post here, but concerns have grown as some posts even mention the president’s personal safety. There also appears to be a debate surrounding who the author of the post is.

On the 12th, the controversy did not go away, with voices pouring in from within the party calling for a proactive response from the ruling party.

On this day, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo posted on his Facebook page, “If hundreds of posts criticizing the president and his wife were posted on the party member bulletin board under the name of the party leader’s family, the party should immediately request an investigation and find out the truth about the matter. We should not try to just shrug it off. “It will happen,” he said.

At the same time, he added, “Please request an investigation immediately, not a party audit. If the name has been stolen, the ruling party must find the person, punish him, and take corresponding measures.”

Jang Ye-chan, former Youth Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, also said on Facebook, “Verbal abuse, including personal insults and vulgar accusations, that cannot be tolerated with open eyes was poured out on the president and his wife and major People Power Party politicians,” adding, “Not a day passes. “It is also strange that the party members who were criticizing the president and his wife did not write as if they had planned it from November 5th, when the suspicions were raised,” he said, demanding an investigation into the truth.

Kim Min-jeon, Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, has also repeatedly stated his position calling for a speedy audit of party affairs on several occasions, including at the Supreme Council meeting on the 11th. People Power Party lawmaker Kim Mi-ae is also known to have made a statement in the lawmakers’ group chat room on the afternoon of the 11th to the effect that an audit of party affairs was necessary in relation to a controversial party member bulletin board post.

On September 4, the police received a report about an article purporting to harm President Yoon being posted on the People Power Party member bulletin board, and it was confirmed that they are tracking down the author. The Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency assigned the case to the Bundang Police Station.

This is not the first time there has been controversy over the People Power Party member bulletin board. This year, whenever there was a conflict between the President’s Office and CEO Han Dong-hoon, thousands of critical posts were posted, causing measles. Since last August, the People Power Party Public Relations Department has introduced an operational policy that limits one person to posting up to three times a day.

Some say that to prevent similar problems from recurring in other spaces, such as portals, it is necessary to consider introducing a nationality indication system or real name indication system in comments.

People Power Party lawmaker Kim Ki-hyun proposed the ‘Internet Nationality Display Act’ in January of last year and July of this year to require the access location of commenters to be disclosed, but it has not yet led to legislative results. Obstacles include the possibility of violating freedom of expression and freedom of business, and the difficulty in determining whether or not there is a ‘bypass’ connection using a VPN service.