A recent study has uncovered evidence of coordinated efforts to sway public opinion on South Korean online platforms through comments suspected to originate from China. (Image courtesy of Pixabay)
SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent study has uncovered evidence of coordinated efforts to sway public opinion on South Korean online platforms through comments suspected to originate from China.
The research, focused on industries where South Korea and China are in fierce competition, such as electric vehicles, batteries, and e-commerce, reveals a pattern of comments disparaging South Korean products while praising Chinese alternatives.
According to a report by Yonhap News on September 29, the study was conducted by a research team led by Kim Eun-young, a police administration professor at Catholic Kwandong University and Hong Suk-hoon from the Department of International Relations at Changwon National University.
The team analyzed comments on articles related to competitive industries between South Korea and China from July 2023 to August 2024. They examined content on various online platforms, including Naver, YouTube, and Nate.
To identify suspected Chinese accounts, the researchers applied criteria used in previous international studies, such as Chinese-style translations, unique ID and profile characteristics, and repeated comments from the same ID.
The report details the findings from 77 suspected Chinese accounts identified on Naver. These accounts appeared to operate in a cell-like structure, divided into two groups coordinated by key players.
One network group was led by accounts with nicknames like “Chen Yang” (later changed to “123456789″) and “Chen Wei Chi,” while another was spearheaded by accounts such as “xuf” and “Seoul Breeze.” The account “Chen Yang” was observed to be a central hub connecting both groups.
In their analysis of 70 randomly selected articles on Naver using keywords like electric vehicles, batteries, smartphones, Samsung, and the trio of AliExpress, Temu and Shein, the researchers found that articles with a high frequency of comments from suspected Chinese accounts also had a high total number of comments.
“The increase in comments by Koreans seems to influence whether suspected Chinese commenters decide to post on a particular article,” the research team noted.
The study highlighted that manipulative commenting trends in competitive industries like electric vehicles and smartphones have been observed for several years, with a recent increase in the frequency of disparaging comments.
The researchers emphasized that the 77 accounts identified on Naver likely represent only a small fraction of the total number of suspected Chinese accounts active on the platform.
On YouTube, the number of suspected Chinese accounts was higher at 239, with some articles receiving up to 2,698 comments, indicating a more intensive coordinated effort compared to Naver’s maximum of 454 comments per article.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
