This is just getting better and better. The police found that the NIS agent accused of being part of the effort to affect the presidential election had a little help from a regular civilian. The agent borrowed the civilian’s resident registration number [주민등록번호] to sign up for sites that require real-name checks, and made posts criticizing the progressives under the borrowed name. The civilian, in turn, borrowed five of the agent’s 16 fake online IDs to make similar types of posts.
There are also indications that the NIS agent attempted to take down some of her posts after the Elections Commission began the investigation. The police initially announced that the NIS agent 49 posts on Today’s Humor, but later amended the number to 91 posts after having found that 42 posts under the NIS agent’s ID were deleted.
The police also traced the IP address of these two, and found scores of same or similar IP addresses that “up-voted” the posts made by the NIS agent and her civilian “friend.” In all likelihood, this indicates a systematic attempt by the NIS to affect the presidential election, rather than being the case of a single person who were expressing her political opinion.
For her part, the NIS agent responded by threatening to sue the police, the websites that gave up the information, and the journalists who reported the story. An unnamed NIS official, in a phone call with Kyunghyang Shinmun, said “NIS agents may engage in espionage with their acquaintances who volunteer.”
So there you have it, MH commentariat. Do you really hate North Korean elements operating in South Korean Internet? You, too, can volunteer with the NIS and play some spy games, while doing the exact same thing that you always do on this site.
{ 52 comments… read them below or add one }
If the agent’s effort helped conservative party’s cause at least a bit, or even preventing progressives from getting into power, then kudos to her. Look at the situation now, a rogue state is on the brink of holding the world at ransom, and all the so-called progressives want to do is give, give and give.
Today’s Humor’s political stance is disguised as progressive , yet you should see the way in which people of the opposite view get trashed on the site. In reality they are anti-Saenuri party.
I believe that commenting gets blocked from being posted on the site, if your comments have 3 times more “dislikes” than “likes” – don’t quote me on this but there is some rule on it. Perhaps the reason why the NIS agent needed to borrow IDs.
During the election race, the site was rife with political content with any Saenuri, conservative or right wing support quickly being put down. Its user-base collectively degrade anything politically conservative. Far cry from fairness and freedom of speech they pretend to promote.
Their humor contents are good though I must admit and they should stick to their strengths.
Get to the bottom line. Do you think Today’s Humor deserved to be under surveillance by the NIS, by virtue of the fact that TH is anti-NFP?
Yes, most definitely.
Good to know where you stand, thanks.
Wow.
Just wow.
You sound surprised. You shouldn’t be.
Again. Love the way korean conservatives think just like the North Koreans.
SK conservatives are the biggest beneficiaries of the Kim Dynasty. Of course they think alike.
If given the opportunity, if you were an NIS agent with liberal leanings, would you have spied on conservative parties such as the Saenuri party? I doubt most liberals (I would like to note especially that I am speaking statistically of course) would say “no” to such a question sincerely.
Also, I don’t think having one’s mother assassinated by North Korean agents would make that person be a beneficiary of the Kim Dynasty.
Let’s get it right–what happened was not “spying on conservative parties.” (Not that this is acceptable.) What happened was (1) NIS running a surveillance on ordinary civilians who might vote contrary to the administration’s wishes, and (2) attempting to interfere with the presidential election by making posts under false guises.
I was not speaking specifically of Park Geun-hye, but thanks to having NK as an excuse, her father ruled Korea for 18 years while murdering and torturing those who dared to oppose him, and she herself managed to become the president based on her father’s political capital. That’s a lot of benefits.
Ill do you one better: I believe all Nork sympathizers should be thrown in prison and hanged.
Your position was never a mystery, so this was not necessary.
You’re back. Rooting for the big launch/detonation?
Mr. Koehler asked me back, so I complied.
And yes, I am rooting for the big launch. China has already intimated that the third nuclear test will be followed by crushing economic sanctions. Anything that pushes NK closer to collapse is welcome in my book.
“crushing economic sanctions”
Not going to happen. Pre-launch jawboning will be followed by post-launch token wrist-slaps; otherwise continuation of the status quo ante in the interests of stability, which is China’s overarching concern
You mean like those prison camps in Yodok, Hwasong, and Chongjin?
The abyss stares back, SMS. The abyss stares back.
His whole thing is: “Government is pure evil, except against those I hate. For those assholes, hail fascism!” Not much principle, rigor or intelligence there–just cathartic word vomiting. Play with him like you would with a cat, otherwise ignore.
That’s pretty much how I feel about the Shinzo Abe Fan Club commenting on the Comfort Women threads.
Nope. 2 weeks max, then the noose.
Oh please, you’re the one who worships fascism – Fascism being simply a small tweak on communism. Your support of the progs speaks loud and clear.
We are at an unappealing status quo, and we can move in one of two directions. Some, like you and your prog friends, wish to move us in the north korean direction. Dealing with such people swiftly is simply a way to prevent the bad status quo from becoming a really bad status quo. Call it self-defense before your side really does set up a Yodok amongst us.
One of two directions? Either one or the other direction, huh?
Well, I guess that’s where you differ from the Kim regime.
You are correct, my prog pinko friend.
You’re in Korea, right? Find yourself a good 무당. 아무래도 McCarthy 귀신에 씌인것 같은데…
Ah, this idea is going to reappear again and again because this speaks of human nature.
Oh for crying out loud. The progressive press are overplaying this and trying to make it look like they lost the elections unfairly. This is ludicrous. How does one agent with couple of people, OK, I give you several even, effect the entire elections by posting 100 odd posts? That is some desperate attempt there to explain their election loss.
“News” taken from Naver, Korea Times, Seoul Shimun. ah…. right….
These are also the usual suspects that also fan Anti American stories.
You can do better than that TK.
Think you may have misunderstood. Any organisarion or medium where opposing views are silenced should definitely be surveillanced, even raided for that matter. That goes for Today’s Humor, 일간베스트 and maybe some of themainstream media.
Now you are making even less sense. You are saying the NIS–the nation’s spy agency–should raid websites and mainstream media if opposing views are not represented? For what? What would they even do on the raid?
Given that you previously claimed that progressives made up this entire thing, I am not sure if you have any credibility left.
There is not a single link to KT in the post. But keep making obvious lies, it is serving you really well.
KT is the English version of Hankook Ibo, TK.
Hankook Ilbo.
They’re making the entire thing up. Blowing up what is nothing more than one person being a troll on the internet on her own time, for her own hobby. It’s not unusual for people What evidence do you have that the NIS was behind it all to trash the opposition party? What evidence do you have even that they’re a politically a ruling party supporter?
It was Roh Moo Hyun government who “reformed” the NIS.
Read the OP. The police said the scheme involved at least two people,
and there are scores of IP addresses, similar to the agents’, that
systematically supported the agent’s posting by up-voting. And that’s
just one person being a troll? You really don’t mind saying dumb shit as long as it helps your team, do you?
Again, you have not answered the question, where’s the evidence that the NIS agency was behind this, and it’s not just couple of people?
Even Marmot’s hole have more than two people with multiple IP’s and multiple ID’s.
I would be way more concerned with what one of the progressive parties did last year when they used thousands of names to get themselves elected.
In just two hours, you went from “one person” to “couple of people.” At this rate, you could backtrack into implicating the entire NIS in a day. Keep it up.
How am I backtracking? I said:
“How does one agent with couple of people, OK, I give you several even, effect the entire elections by posting 100 odd posts?”
Wow, I love these exchanges between cm and TK. It’s like I’ve been transplanted into the 16th century and watching the East Faction of the Joseon court go at it against the West Faction… but with a lot less byzantine confucian bs.
As much as i hate to admit it i miss JK vs Tilly
I have to agree, as much as pillaging the public coffers to fight a partisan battle in a Presidential election is fairly despicable, the idea that a few moronic posts on a pop internet outlet might sway the election one way or the other seems a bit odd.
And since the dawn of the times everywhere secret service-type organisations monitor politically-charged media
Okay. If you were an NIS agent with liberal leanings would have you have ran a surveillance on ordinary civilians and attempted to interfere with the presidential election? I doubt and I think it would be disingenuous if a liberal (again, speaking statistically) said no.
I guess in your view Kim Daejung, another conservative (or at least center-right), also benefited from the Kim dynasty.
Your attempt to bring KDJ into the fold of “conservative” is utterly ridiculous, as are the rest of your reckless and baseless allegations.
Id have to agree, anyone as treasonous as KDJ could only be a prog.
I am merely commenting on human nature. I don’t think liberals or conservatives are immaculate. Perhaps, your claim is that one is less dirty than the other — but 오십보소백보. I am perhaps ignorant on the KDJ issue. I was under the impression that he was center-right.
The thing about 백보 is that it is 100% greater than 오십보. When we cannot eliminate human flaws, minimizing them is the next best thing.
KDJ may be considered a center-right in certain limited areas (e.g. economics). If you were writing a scholarly article about KDJ, you could call him center-right after giving a lengthy caveat about exactly what that means. But within the context of Korean politics discussed in ordinary parlance, KDJ is a liberal and progressive.
raided as in worth getting rid of.. it is in these type of settings where extremism can bear fruit. Today’s Humor is not a political party nor a private organisation. It’s an open online forum and if its administrators choose not to accommodate openness then it should be gone one way or another.
TK is taking this “investigation result” by the Hankyoreh paper all too seriously. Of course they found guilt, right wing conspiracy everywhere. The very ideal that one person can even begin to effect the election by posting few comments on the internet – how dare she do that! This just shows the childish unrealistic mindset of the left. They just cannot accept defeat graciously.
Ok, you need to practice your English language, because “raid” is not anywhere the same as “worth getting rid of.” Not sure if it is worth having any conversation with you if I cannot connect your thoughts to your words.
So, your position is that the nation’s spy agency should maintain constant surveillance of the media, and shut down any media that does not accommodate opposition views, in order to stamp out extremism. Ok.
I meant what I meant. When something gets raided, it means to disturb their operations, and signalling that they should stop.
And your position to foster extremism. That just proves it.
Your bad writing is beyond salvageable. Any attempt to save it only makes you look stupider–which is quite amazing, considering how stupid your position already is.
Where will the internet be without the language police. I didn’t “write”, I typed, grandma.
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