hankyoreh

South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo closes his eyes before talking to reporters on Wednesday after the Supreme Court found him guilty of conspiring with a blogger to manipulate public opinion online to help South Korean President Moon Jae-in win the 2017 election. (Yonhap News)

South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo’s two-year prison sentence for involvement in an internet opinion rigging incident was upheld Wednesday by the Supreme Court.

In judicial terms, Kim was confirmed to be a conspirator with blogger Kim Dong-won, known by his internet name “Druking.” The verdict comes four years and four months after the incident first came to public attention. Kim Kyoung-soo has been stripped of his governorship and is set to return to prison shortly.

Kim maintained his innocence after the ruling. “I will not let go of my faith that no matter how far you may throw the truth, it will return to its proper place.”

But the important thing about this ruling is not simply Kim’s fate as an individual. Instead, it should be taken as an occasion for contemplating how we should respond to the very precarious environment that South Korea’s electoral democracy and opinion politics face.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court’s second division under Justice Lee Dong-won upheld an original court ruling sentencing Kim to two years in prison on charges of obstruction of duties through computer impairment for receiving reports on and approving Kim Dong-won’s plan to rig internet replies.

It’s a serious situation in that all three of the courts consistently acknowledged the nature of the crime.

The Supreme Court upheld an earlier ruling acquitting Kim Kyoung-soo of violating the Public Official Election Act, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to connect the proposal of an official position for one of Kim Dong-won’s cohorts with the local elections. At the same time, it also acknowledged that the offer had indeed been made.

Looking at the incident as a whole, we can see the serious threats to the basic democratic order taking place even on the fringes of the political world.

The Druking crew had been nothing more than an online “economy cafe” when they took systematic action with a program they had developed to rig reply rankings. They even attempted to approach the associate of a major presidential candidate to attempt to organize a “trade” for an official position.

When they failed to get the official position they wanted, they boldly decided to undertake an online “counter-operation.” The tragic suicide of former lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan has also been tied to their activities.

The Druking crew used information technology to commit their crimes. When it comes to proliferation speed and reach, IT vastly outdoes word of mouth.

Every day, South Korean democracy is exposed to the dangers of fake news spreading via the internet and social networking services. More than anyone, it is politicians who have the responsibility to fix this environment. The ruling sends a warning message: abetting the spread of fake news can come back to bite you hard.

Kim Kyoung-soo is now the third Democratic Party-affiliated local government head to fail to complete a term due to improprieties, after the mayors of Seoul and Busan. The Democratic Party said the ruling was “disappointing” but that it would “respect” it.

This is a moment that calls for some serious self-reflection.

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]