Park Young-sun, Geum Tae-seop... Politicians Flocking to Verbal SNS 'Clubhouse'

From Politics to Kids' Stories, Free Communication Gains Popularity... Could It Become a New Channel?

On the night of the 9th at 9 PM, a reporter participated in the "Ask Me Anything" room hosted by former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop on the audio-based SNS 'Clubhouse.' On that day, about 400 members entered the chat room and engaged in a free discussion with former lawmaker Geum.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] As the audio-based SNS 'Clubhouse' gains explosive popularity among young people, politicians seeking to increase their engagement with this demographic are also stepping forward here. On the night of the 9th, former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, who declared his candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election, opened a room. The reporter obtained an invitation to enter Clubhouse and joined Geum's 'Ask Me Anything' room.

About 400 people gathered to meet former lawmaker Geum. Questions aligned with the purpose of the room, such as "What kind of political image do you want to create, Congressman?" were asked, along with casual conversations like "I have a child next to me (citizen)" and "I am also a father of two children (former lawmaker Geum)."

Former lawmaker Geum is an 'active' Clubhouse-using politician who opened his own room and gathered participants. Previously, former Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun also visited here, but it was more of a 'test the waters' approach as she entered a room created by someone else unexpectedly. Likewise, Park, who is running for Seoul mayor, appeared on the 3rd in the 'Political Talk' chat room created by Yoo Ho-hyun, CEO of Oxo Politics, and Kim Seo-jun, CEO of Hashed, and conducted an interview. Justice Party lawmaker Jang Hye-young also appeared on the evening of the 6th in the 'People Reading Legislative Reports' room opened by the political community group 'Shadow Cabinet.'

For politicians facing elections, there is no reason to refuse a newly emerging communication channel. The difficulty of face-to-face activities due to COVID-19 is also a factor. Clubhouse attracted attention after Tesla CEO Elon Musk participated, followed by appearances from Kim Bong-jin, founder of Woowa Brothers, and Lee Seung-geon, CEO of Toss and Viva Republica, increasing domestic interest. As young people gathered attracted by the advantage of easily accessing lectures by celebrities who are usually hard to meet, politicians' visits continued.

Also, with politicians gathering, journalists' interest is also drawn. In the room operated by former lawmaker Geum for an hour, a certain newspaper reporter revealed their identity and asked questions. The method is that the room creator nominates those who raise their hands, but the reporter did not get a chance to ask questions.

Clubhouse requires an invitation to enter. This exclusivity serves as a sign of being an 'insider,' but it is also a disadvantage for politicians who want to communicate with more citizens. This is why it is unclear whether Clubhouse will settle as a main communication tool for politicians like Twitter or Facebook. Former lawmaker Geum said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 10th, "When talking with politicians or journalists, only stereotyped questions come up, but talking with citizens allowed me to hear new thoughts and questions," adding, "It provided a stage where candidates can be freely evaluated," sharing his impressions of using Clubhouse.

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