Police search and seize YouTuber for ‘inducing false responses’ in Democratic Party poll

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Jeon Jae-hoon = The police launched a mandatory investigation into a YouTuber suspected of inducing viewers to give false answers about their region of residence and age during a poll on party leader candidate preferences during the 8/17 National Convention of the Democratic Party of Korea.

According to Yonhap News coverage on the 20th, the Public Crimes Investigation Unit of the Metropolitan Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is executing a search and seizure warrant by sending investigators to the office in Deogyang-gu, Goyang-si and the residence in Ilsan of Lee Jong-won, the operator of the YouTube channel 'Sisa Tapa TV'.

The search and seizure warrant included charges of obstruction of business.

Mr. Lee is accused of interfering with the work of the party's National Election Commission and the public opinion polling agency, which conducted the survey, by encouraging viewers of his YouTube channel's live broadcast from August 14th to 15th with the message, 'If you receive a call for a public opinion poll, answer by lying about your place of residence and age.'

The national public opinion survey was conducted by allocating samples in proportion to the population by region, gender, and age. It was designed to prevent respondents with the same conditions from participating in the survey once the quota of respondents from a specific region, gender, or age was met.

Accordingly, the purpose of the Democratic Party's complaint is that Mr. Lee encouraged viewers to 'respond to the investigation by disguising themselves as someone who did not meet the quota.'

Lee Je-il, a lawyer on Mr. Lee's side, said, "It is unfair for the police to conduct a search and seizure only for cases in which the Democratic Party and others have accused Representative Lee, rather than compulsorily investigating the case of Representative Lee's complaint against Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok."