“Conservatives with the Right Mind Don’t Watch Over-the-Air Networks,” Lee Dong-kwan Said on a Far-right YouTube Channel

Lee Dong-kwan, special advisor on international cooperation in the Office of the President, nominated for chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, appeared on the far-right YouTube channel, Shinui Hansu (@tubeshin) on June 24, 2019. A scene captured from YouTube

Lee Dong-kwan (pictured), the special advisor to the president on international cooperation, currently emerging as a strong candidate for the next chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, once appeared on a far-right YouTube channel and said, “Conservatives with the right mind don’t watch over-the-air networks,” and pledged his support saying, “I will contribute what I can so you can get more than a million subscribers.” This led to criticism that Lee revealed his biased ideas on media, an approach that assessed media outlets according to whether they worked in favor of conservatives.

According to the Kyunghyang Shinmun coverage on June 11, the videos posted on June 6 and June 24, 2019 on the far-right YouTube channel, Shinui Hansu (@tubeshin), showed an interview of Lee Dong-kwan with Shin Hye-sik, the channel owner.

In the video titled, “Park Geun-hye Abandoned the Pro-Park Party!!! Once You Fall by Dividing, There Is No Chance!!!” Lee revealed his views on the media. Lee said, “In the past, there were a few axes that supported the conservatives,” and argued that whether you liked it or not, the conservative media outlets were the biggest axis, followed by business, such as the Federation of Korean Industries and the Korea Enterprises Federation, and civil servant organizations like the police. He then said, “But what has become of them now? They’ve all collapsed.”

The special advisor to the president further said, “The conservative media outlets might not like to hear this, but it is true that they are conscious of the authorities since control has been tighter than in the past and they exert pressure using the license renewal for general programming channels as a weapon.” He also argued, “There’s no need to even mention over-the-air networks. The conservative right with the right mind does not watch over-the-air networks. They watch Shinui Hansu (@tubeshin).”

This channel was once at the center of controversy for posting videos with information that was never verified to be true, such as rumors that lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan was murdered, that the 21th parliamentary elections were rigged, and that the dead college student in Hangang River was murdered. Shin Mi-hee, secretary-general of the Citizens’ Coalition for Democratic Media, said, “One of the major qualifications of the chairperson of the Communications Commission is a balanced view of media. His past is concerning, for he did not hesitate to appear on a channel identified as the source of false information.” She claimed that Lee’s perspective on the media from a political stance based on whether the outlet worked in favor or against a particular camp fueled her concerns.