The anomalies which happened on the Korean web portal Daum during the Asian Games show that overseas manipulation of public opinions on domestic portal sites has become a reality.

During the Asian Games men's football quarterfinal match between South Korea and China on Sunday, the ratio of clicks cheering for China on Daum reached 91 percent at one point, compared with a mere 9 percent for South Korea. On Naver, another Korean web portal, the number of clicks cheering for South Korea took up 94 percent versus 6 percent for China. The manipulation was especially pronounced on Daum, which is a site also known for its left-leaning tendencies.

Unlike Naver, Daum did not require users to log in to click the cheer button. Also, there was no limit on the number of cheering clicks that could be registered per user, so a small number of people could make it appear as if overall public sentiment during the match fell in favor of China.

The figures on Daum indicate that someone attempted to manipulate public opinion using its cheering feature and succeeded in producing results completely opposite to actual Korean sentiment. This is a serious matter that raises great concerns about public opinion manipulation on the internet ahead of the general elections next year. Certain overseas groups may attempt to intervene in Korean public opinion with malicious intentions. If ignored, they will likely cause a big problem.

Experts say repetitive automated clicking systems were likely activated abroad targeting Daum's cheering feature. Those behind the incident and their reasons must be investigated.

Attempts to manipulate public opinion on the internet are nothing new.

The "Druking" scandal which came to light in 2018 is a case in point. Before the 2017 presidential election, a Democratic Party of Korea member nicknamed "Druking" and his accomplices, including a lawmaker of the party, tried to manipulate public opinion through online comments and by sharply increasing the number of recommendations of particular news stories using a repetitive clicking program.

Before the general elections in April 2020, the "Chinagate" scandal broke, centering on a conspiracy theory that raised suspicions among Koreans that China affects public opinions in the countries of the Free World through online intervention.

Daum and Naver said they shut off access to their sites from China, but it is known that they can be accessed from abroad in a roundabout way using virtual private networks.

Certain groups based in China or North Korea may attempt to have an effect on South Korea's general elections by spreading false information that incite anti-US and anti-Japanese sentiment in collaboration with pro-Chinese and pro-North Korean groups in South Korea. Rep. Park Sung-joong of the ruling People Power Party said the overwhelming number of cheer clicks for China on Daum can be seen as evidence of intervention by certain Chinese people and that North Korea may have interfered by way of China.

Attempts to influence elections in South Korea by fabricating pro-Chinese and pro-North Korean public opinions are a grave threat to democracy. Ahead of the general elections next year, election commissions, the prosecution and police must strengthen monitoring of false information. Violations must be punished sternly to root out opinion-rigging and demagogic politics.

The government said it will create a task force to draw up measures to prevent public opinion manipulation such as the Druking case, but ultimately the issue requires revision of related laws.

Currently, a bill requiring web portals to disclose countries where online comments are made and whether access is made through virtual private networks is pending in the related standing committee of the National Assembly.

The People Power Party said it will seek to imprison or fine not only public opinion manipulators and accomplices but also portal businesses that neglect them. The majority opposition Democratic Party should abandon thoughts of using the issue politically in elections and cooperate actively with efforts to prevent public opinion manipulation.

In addition to the bill, the rival parties need to consider requiring web portal users to write online comments in their real names.

The general elections that will determine the future of the nation are about half a year away. The government and the Assembly must work together to fundamentally block public opinion manipulation on the internet.