After Kang Yong-seok's Arrest, 15 Million Won in 'Super Chat' Donations Flood In

YouTube channel 'Garosero Research Institute' operator, lawyer Kang Yong-seok [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] The YouTube channel "Garo Sero Research Institute" (Gaseyeon), run by lawyer Kang Yong-seok who was arrested and then released by the police on charges of defamation against President Moon Jae-in, received a flood of "Super Chats," a type of donation.

According to the Super Chat statistics site Playboard on the 9th, Gaseyeon received about 15 million won in Super Chats throughout the day, while on the 8th, when lawyer Kang was arrested at his home, the Super Chat revenue was 8.4 million won.

Before, Gaseyeon received 300,000 won on the 5th, 200,000 won on the 6th, and 1 million won on the 7th, averaging about 1 to 3 million won per day, but after lawyer Kang’s arrest, the amount increased by at least 5 times and up to 15 times. Super Chat is a function similar to AfreecaTV’s donation feature called "Star Balloons," allowing viewers to directly donate money during YouTube live broadcasts.

Super Chat statistics of the YouTube channel 'Garosero Research Institute'. Income on the 9th is recorded to be over 15 million won. Photo by Playboard capture

Earlier, lawyer Kang was arrested at his home on the morning of the 8th and was investigated at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Kang is accused of spreading false information and defamation after revealing a photo on Gaseyeon in March showing President Moon shaking hands with Lee Man-hee, the head of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji). After the Democratic Party of Korea filed a complaint in March, Kang was summoned by the police four times over three months but did not comply, leading to his arrest.

After the investigation, Kang told reporters, "The media outlets that reported the photo have not been sued, but only we, who broadcasted citing those media, were specially charged, which I find hard to understand."

He also explained his refusal to respond to the police summons, saying, "There are dozens of cases filed against me by various people, and if I responded to every police and prosecution summons, I would not be able to carry out Gaseyeon’s work," and claimed it was "a large-scale crackdown on right-wing YouTubers."

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