Governor Kim Kyoung-soo sentenced to 2 years in prison for opinion rigging
- 5 years ago
'드루킹' 댓글조작 공모 혐의 김경수 경남도지사, 1심 징역 2년 실형
Gyeongsangnam-do governor Kim Kyoung-soo was sentenced to jail today.
Seoul Central District Court found the liberal politician guilty of colluding with a power blogger to manipulate online comment rankings for political purposes.
Yoon Jung-min has the latest.
Kim Kyoung-soo, the current governor of Gyeongsangnam-do Province and former Democratic Party lawmaker, was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday for allegedly colluding with a blogger to manipulate the rankings of online comments for political purposes.
The governor denied the allegations, but the Seoul Central District Court found that he conspired with blogger Kim Dong-won, known by the alias "Druking", to use a software program to rig millions of "likes" or "dislikes" on online comment sections.
Kim was detained right after the verdict, but said he cannot accept the ruling and will fight until "the end." He suggested that he would lodge an appeal with a higher court.
The court found that Kim colluded with Druking and his accomplices to develop a comment-rigging software program "King Crab,"... and that he took part in opinion-rigging crimes to benefit the ruling Democratic Party ahead of the presidential election in 2017.
Kim was also found guilty of promising the position of consul general in Sendai, Japan to one of Druking's accomplices in exchange for his help.
For violating the Public Official Election Act, Governor Kim was sentenced to another 10 months in prison suspended for two years.
If higher courts uphold the ruling, then the law says Kim will lose his seat as governor and will be replaced by the vice governor in an acting capacity.
In another ruling on the same day, Druking -- real name Kim Dong-won -- was sentenced to three years and six months behind bars on charges of on-line comment rigging. Druking was also found guilty of bribery.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.
Gyeongsangnam-do governor Kim Kyoung-soo was sentenced to jail today.
Seoul Central District Court found the liberal politician guilty of colluding with a power blogger to manipulate online comment rankings for political purposes.
Yoon Jung-min has the latest.
Kim Kyoung-soo, the current governor of Gyeongsangnam-do Province and former Democratic Party lawmaker, was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday for allegedly colluding with a blogger to manipulate the rankings of online comments for political purposes.
The governor denied the allegations, but the Seoul Central District Court found that he conspired with blogger Kim Dong-won, known by the alias "Druking", to use a software program to rig millions of "likes" or "dislikes" on online comment sections.
Kim was detained right after the verdict, but said he cannot accept the ruling and will fight until "the end." He suggested that he would lodge an appeal with a higher court.
The court found that Kim colluded with Druking and his accomplices to develop a comment-rigging software program "King Crab,"... and that he took part in opinion-rigging crimes to benefit the ruling Democratic Party ahead of the presidential election in 2017.
Kim was also found guilty of promising the position of consul general in Sendai, Japan to one of Druking's accomplices in exchange for his help.
For violating the Public Official Election Act, Governor Kim was sentenced to another 10 months in prison suspended for two years.
If higher courts uphold the ruling, then the law says Kim will lose his seat as governor and will be replaced by the vice governor in an acting capacity.
In another ruling on the same day, Druking -- real name Kim Dong-won -- was sentenced to three years and six months behind bars on charges of on-line comment rigging. Druking was also found guilty of bribery.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.