(News Focus) Presidential election roiled by alleged opinion rigging

A wave of accusations of online opinion manipulation by a conservative education organization has gripped the final days of the presidential election campaign as the nation gears up to elect its new leader this week.

Last week, the online news outlet Newstapa reported that the education group Rhee Park School has been operating a team of online commenters to sway public opinion in favor of conservative People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo and against liberal Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung.

The team allegedly instructed its members to write online comments praising Kim as well as ones critical of Lee in a coordinated manner, according to Newstapa.

In response, the DP has filed a complaint against the “far-right” group, named after former Presidents Rhee Syng-man and Park Chung-hee, who are revered in conservative circles, with police launching an investigation into the case.

Park Hyun-soo, acting chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, vowed to conduct a “thorough and swift” investigation.

A police official said they already interviewed the DP official, who had filed the complaint, on Sunday, noting they plan to look into the case for possible election law violations and obstruction of business.

“The charges may increase with witness questioning and other procedures, and the investigation could take place in a different direction,” the official said.

DP candidate Lee Jae-myung has called the allegations an act of “insurrection” that destroys the constitutional order while suggesting the PPP’s possible involvement in the alleged opinion rigging.

“It does not make sense that the PPP is not involved. I think there is a clear connection,” Lee told reporters Monday. “By praising PPP candidate Kim Moon-soo and disparaging Lee Jae-myung, (they) conducted a political attack by spreading false information, with Kim and the PPP reaping the benefits.”

Meanwhile, Kim has denied having any knowledge about the allegations surrounding Rhee Park School.

“I don’t even know who writes (what) on our party’s comments; how would I know (what) Rhee Park School writes in the comments?” Kim told reporters Sunday. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Kim has faced accusations of being connected to the organization, such as allegedly attending a lecture by a group affiliated with Rhee Park School’s chief in 2018.

“This is not a problem of knowing or not knowing someone at Rhee Park School — the comments are the problem right now,” Kim said, declining to comment on whether he knows the organization’s head Son Hyo-sook.

In light of the allegations, the education ministry has dismissed Son from a policy advisory role and plans to conduct a probe into her group as the scandal appears to continue to roil the nation.

On Monday, a civic group filed a complaint against Kim for allegedly disseminating false information over his denial of being connected to Rhee Park School.

South Koreans will head to the polls Tuesday to elect the successor to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December.