00:00Currently, certain forces are shaking up public opinion in Korea, stirring up fights among
00:04Koreans and causing division.
00:05They are splitting public opinion into two, gradually making the country of Korea sick.
00:09This time, a research team at KAIST identified 23,998 accounts among Naver News users that
00:16are suspected of being involved in foreign linked influence activities.
00:19The research team analyzed about 110 million comments posted on Naver News and data from
00:24around 4 million users over a period of about 20 years, from April 2006 to March 2025.
00:30By analyzing this massive amount of data over a long period, they were able to identify
00:34the activity patterns of accounts and the characteristics of comments that were difficult to detect in
00:38the past.
00:39What stands out in this study is that the suspicious accounts did not act in a way that unilaterally
00:44supported a particular political group.
00:46Researchers found that messages harshly criticizing Korea and its politics, as well as those likely
00:52to cause conflict, appeared repeatedly.
00:55This has significant implications.
00:57The researchers found these accounts mainly criticized Korean society, instead of praising
01:02foreign countries or groups allied with them.
01:05Criticism targeted not just politics, but all of Korean society, including its political
01:10and economic systems and management institutions.
01:12What's important here is that the attacks were not limited to a specific political camp.
01:17Key targets included top Korean political figures, such as current and former presidents and
01:21presidential candidates from both progressive and conservative sides.
01:24Rather than encouraging support for a specific party or candidate, the activities were aimed
01:28at increasing distrust in the political sphere as a whole, and intensifying internal divisions
01:32within society.
01:33Notably, seven of the top ten targets were prominent Korean politicians, including both current and
01:38former presidents from both progressive and conservative parties, regardless of affiliation.
01:42Users' reactions to the comments also showed notable results.
01:45Of all strategies analyzed, only comments critical of Korea had a higher average like ratio at
01:500.514, meaning more likes than dislikes.
01:54So those who are often referred to as nationalists deliberately criticized Korea, and that received
01:59a lot of support from people.
02:00The researchers noted this high level of user engagement.
02:03They analyzed that these reactions may have influenced the increased exposure of such messages.
02:07This is somewhat natural, as even in online communities, people tend to look at popular posts or comments
02:12first.
02:13But if those posts or comments are influenced by a certain public opinion, it's only natural
02:17that people get swept up by them.
02:19Right now, on online news sites, the more reactions a comment gets from users, the more likely
02:24it is to be exposed to a larger audience.
02:26So if a message that causes conflict gets a lot of reactions, it could lead to further spread.
02:31Changes in activity during the election period are also an important aspect.
02:35According to the research team's analysis, an average of 34.19 suspicious accounts per week
02:39started new activity during major election periods.
02:42Compared to the weekly average of 22.61 during non-election periods, this is an increase
02:47of about 51%.
02:48Suspicious account activity often rose during periods of high political interest, like presidential,
02:54parliamentary, and local elections.
02:56Just looking at the numbers confirmed in this analysis, the scale of 23,998 is quite large.
03:02But what's more important is not just the number of accounts, but that we also analyze the
03:06timing of their activities, the direction of their messages, their connections with other
03:10accounts, and even user responses.
03:12The increase in new suspicious account activity during times of political conflict, like elections,
03:17indicates that future analysis of online public opinion should consider not just account
03:21numbers and comment content, but also activity timing and information spread methods.
03:26In fact, up until now, online platforms themselves have been misused as a kind of staging ground
03:30by foreign forces, allowing them to reach large numbers of users at low cost and repeatedly
03:35spread certain messages, thereby increasing social distrust and political conflict.
03:39As shown in this recent study, these particular forces that cause division in Korea have not
03:43simply supported one political side, but have instead made every effort to amplify conflict
03:48and confrontation within Korean society.
03:50So sometimes they would make far-right statements, and at other times they would make far-left
03:54statements, intentionally provoking people to fight with each other.
03:57In particular, there have been ongoing suspicions about online influence operations targeting
04:02Korea by China's so-called 50-cent party.
04:04This was revealed by a research team from Gachon University in December 2024.
04:08They analyzed online activities tied to China and investigated organized comment campaigns
04:13targeting Korea.
04:14It was reported that the activities identified at the time included not only content that belittled
04:19Korean society and Koreans, but also content emphasizing China's superiority, spreading
04:24negative perceptions about certain regions, and provoking conflicts between men and women.
04:28We should note that multiple topics were used at once, not just the content of one comment.
04:33It wasn't just about provoking political conflict, but also about touching on sensitive
04:37issues that already exist within Korean society, such as regional conflict, generational conflict,
04:42and gender conflict.
04:43This is because repeatedly exposing people to content that makes them view other groups negatively
04:48may be aimed at increasing distrust among members of society.
04:52Especially online, even if a single comment doesn't have much impact, when similar content is
04:57repeated by multiple accounts, the impression users receive can change.
05:00When the same argument appears repeatedly, people may feel that more individuals hold that
05:04opinion than actually do, and as negative expressions about a certain group continue to be exposed,
05:09there is also a possibility that existing opinions become reinforced.
05:12You've probably all experienced this yourselves.
05:15When this process is repeated, there's a greater chance that people will see different
05:18groups as opposing each other, rather than as members of a single community.
05:22This type of public opinion manipulation occurred not only in comments, but also on YouTube.
05:28Google closed 449 Korean-language YouTube channels focused on Korean politics en masse in the
05:34second quarter of this year.
05:35In May alone, before the June 3rd local elections, 367 Korean-language channels were shut down.
05:41Google stated that they determined these channels were part of an organized operation, using multiple
05:46accounts or channels to influence certain political and social perceptions.
05:50To be more specific, 22 channels were shut down in April, 367 in May, and 60 in June.
05:55The channels that were shut down were not limited to any one political faction.
05:59There were channels that supported certain political parties or the government, and on the other
06:02hand, there were also channels that criticized them.
06:05In May, 142 government-critical channels were shut down.
06:09However, 53 channels that criticized the government and a certain political party were also shut down,
06:14and 71 channels that supported the Korean government were also closed.
06:18Additionally, 43 pro-government channels that criticized the political party were also shut down.
06:23The reason Google shut down these channels and groups is because, although they appeared
06:26to be independently operated by different users on the surface, in reality, a single entity
06:31or organization was managing multiple accounts to shape public opinion.
06:35It's rare for Google to delete so many Korean-language channels.
06:38In my 12 years as a YouTuber, I've never seen YouTube remove this many channels at once.
06:43This can be interpreted as meaning that public opinion manipulation regarding Korea is becoming
06:47more and more severe.
06:48According to Google, influence operations are being carried out on a large scale.
06:52This influence operation involves one entity controlling multiple accounts to spread a message,
06:57making it seem like many people are expressing their own views to manipulate public opinion.
07:02hybrid warfare is the term often used to describe public opinion manipulation and the creation
07:07of social chaos.
07:09Hybrid warfare uses a combination of political, economic, informational, cyber, and diplomatic
07:14tools instead of relying on military force alone to weaken an opposing country's response.
07:19In the 21st century, advances in information technology and social media have made these activities
07:23more sophisticated.
07:25In the past, when war or military operations occurred, major developments were conveyed through
07:29the media.
07:29But now, information from the scene spreads in real time around the world through smartphones
07:34and social media.
07:35In this process, information whose facts have not been verified or intentionally edited content
07:40can also spread rapidly.
07:42Hybrid threats can emerge before military conflicts, not just after.
07:45Even in normal times, activities such as cyber attacks, information theft, online propaganda,
07:50political influence, economic pressure, and actions that cause social conflict can all
07:55be used at the same time.
07:56Even without attacking military facilities, undermining trust between government and citizens, fueling
08:02suspicion, and heightening political conflict can weaken a nation's crisis response.
08:08That's why Russia's potential use of hybrid warfare after the Cold War attracted attention.
08:12Even with limited resources, combining cyberspace, information, political influence, and economic
08:18means allows a country to pressure another without using military force.
08:22Russia is considered to have used cyber activities, information warfare, and political influence in
08:28various conflicts involving Estonia, Georgia, and Ukraine.
08:31Sometimes, energy and economic influence are used together, making it hard for the other
08:36side to respond.
08:37In hybrid warfare, causing direct damage isn't the only important factor.
08:41If conflicts within society are made to persist, distrust in government policies is increased,
08:46and citizens are made to view different groups with hostility.
08:49That country will have to spend more time and resources solving its internal problems.
08:53If internal political conflicts increase, reaching social consensus becomes harder, even when
08:58facing external threats.
08:59Modern hybrid threats are hard to counter with just military power, so it's said the whole
09:04population must unite to respond effectively.
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