Ha Tae-kyung: "Min Kyung-wook's claim is a 'mathematical manipulation'... Currently 'Follow the ghost'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the Future United Party, criticized former United Party lawmaker Min Kyung-wook's 'election manipulation theory' along with the theory of Chinese intervention as fabricated. He pointed out that the phrase 'Follow the party,' presented by former lawmaker Min as evidence of Chinese intervention, was not found within the system but derived, likening it to a 'mathematical trick.' However, former lawmaker Min dismissed this as 'nonsense' and raised his voice, claiming there will be election manipulation in the 2022 presidential election as well.

On the 31st, Ha held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office and said, "The reason we suffered a crushing defeat in the general election is probably because people dislike the Democratic Party but dislike our party even more when they look for alternatives," expressing this view.

Ha said, "No matter how well we do, unless we purge the extreme disliked factions within our party, our party's approval rating will not rise," adding, "At the very least, if we claim to be conservative right-wing, there should be a culture that respects facts, science, and common sense, but this is neither conservative nor right-wing; it is creating conspiracy theories and building one's position within those conspiracies."

He suggested that former lawmaker Min's election manipulation theory and Chinese intervention theory have gone beyond mere suspicion to the level of conspiracy theories. He pointed out that the phrase 'Follow the party,' presented by former lawmaker Min as evidence of Chinese intervention, was created by a YouTuber.

Ha explained, "Hacking occurs when a hacker plants malicious code, and someone within the election commission downloads that malicious code, allowing the hacker to access the internal network of the election commission through leaked passwords," adding, "I thought the Chinese hacker left the trace 'Follow the party' within the malicious code, but that was not the case."

He continued, "By manipulating numbers and data related to election precincts to create a random number table and converting it into ASCII code, a specific character combination appears, and the only phrase that forms a sentence is 'Follow the party,' which led to the theory of Chinese hacker intervention," but he pointed out, "In reality, phrases like 'Follow the ghost' and 'Follow the happy' also appear, not just that one phrase."

Even among YouTubers supporting the 'election manipulation theory,' there are criticisms that there is no basis for the phrase 'Follow the party.' Ha said, "Former lawmaker Min, not fully understanding it himself, asked a YouTuber instructor named 'Mathematics Jam' who claims election fraud to explain it, but this YouTuber also conveyed that 'it cannot be proven,'" explaining, "Even the person former lawmaker Min trusts said this."

Ha said, "Lastly, I ask former lawmaker Min. Why would I want to criticize him? Isn't this just wrong?" adding, "Many of former lawmaker Min's supporters send me comments and texts, but it is because of such extreme voices that our party has fallen. I expect a decision and courage to confess."

Former lawmaker Min's side requested that he admit that the phrase 'Follow the party' is fabricated and confess the truth.

In response, former lawmaker Min said on Facebook, "Ha claims that 'people do not support the United Party because of Min Kyung-wook,' but what power does a fallen lawmaker have for people to look at me?" He retorted, "He says nothing about election fraud or the expulsion of Yoon Mi-hyang, but just acts as the Democratic Party's pretty puppy, which makes everyone angry and leave the party."

He added, "Your nonsense is only accelerating," and said, "Those who went to the other party and came back, why are you doing this alternately? The 21st general election was the largest and worst fraudulent election in constitutional history," adding the election manipulation theory from 2018. However, this post did not include the #Follow_the_party hashtag that he usually attached at the end of his Facebook posts until the 30th.

Earlier that day, former lawmaker Min wrote on Facebook, "When we suffered a crushing defeat in the 2018 local elections, we only reflected on our own shortcomings, hitting the ground and keeping silent. Even when the outcome was overturned by the last out-of-district ballot box during the Changwon Seongsan by-election count, we accepted defeat without a single doubt, emphasizing a cool attitude," and added, "Looking back now, that was a rehearsal for the manipulation of the 21st general election," raising the election manipulation theory from 2018.

He also raised his voice, claiming there will be manipulation in the upcoming presidential and local elections. Former lawmaker Min warned, "Through this general election, those who have completely mastered the manipulation methods and especially understood the voting tendencies of 5 million voters will find winning the upcoming presidential and local elections a piece of cake," adding, "They will think that for the next election, they just need to be careful not to be as obvious as this election."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.