[The Editors' Verdict] East Sea Oil: How Did He Know?

It was a week of excitement in the country with the expectation of becoming a major oil-producing nation. On the 3rd, the government officially announced that there is a high possibility of up to 14 billion barrels of oil and gas deposits in the offshore area of Yeongil Bay, Pohang, Gyeongbuk. The announcement was met with humor about acquiring Han-yu (Korean oil) following the pride of Hanwoo (Korean beef), warnings not to fall into the ‘resource curse’ like Venezuela, Nigeria, and the Netherlands, and even admonitions not to count chickens before they hatch.

Looking around, it seems that hardly anyone believed the announcement without any skepticism. While it would be good news if true, the general perception was to wait until it is confirmed. The backlash would be significant if the results turn out to be completely different from the government’s announcement or fall far short of the expected maximum of 14 billion barrels. In that sense, it remains questionable whether the government deliberately made such a surprising announcement that startled the entire nation, given the risks involved.

The open-ended nature of the announcement even sparked unnecessary conspiracy theories. As soon as the announcement was made, the name ‘Cheongong’ appeared frequently in numerous online communities and open chat rooms. Videos and screenshots of Cheongong, a fortune teller, claiming “We can also become an oil-producing country” spread widely online. Even the Democratic Party remarked, “There are talks here and there about the ‘shadow of Cheongong’ in such a significant announcement.”

Until now, whenever the name ‘Cheongong’ came up, it was dismissed as nonsense. There was a belief that since the Constitutional Court ruling in March 2017, the government would not operate in such a manner. However, the news about oil in the East Sea felt somewhat absurd, and the ‘Cheongong theory’ lingered slightly in the back of the mind, making it hard to just laugh off.

[Photo by Pixabay]

How did he know in advance? I checked his YouTube channel directly. The video uploaded on the 16th of last month was titled ‘Whether a material that can replace gold can be developed.’ The video’s topic was not about ‘whether oil is buried in Korea’ or anything like that. The video starts with a question from an attendee: ‘I am curious whether a material that can replace gold can be developed in the future, whether the value of gold can continue to rise, and whether possessing precious metals brings energy that makes things go well.’ The answers given were quite extravagant. “Korea will achieve a national income of $100,000, $200,000 within 10 years and become the world’s number one country,” “All treasures on Earth are buried beneath the Korean Peninsula,” and so on. The controversial remarks also slipped out during this process.

Basically, this YouTube channel covers a wide range of topics that any YouTuber might handle, including politics, economy, society, science, and more. Topics range from US-China relations, COVID-19, artificial intelligence (AI), legislative conflicts, decline of educational authority, Taekwondo, job changes, marriage, Chinese online shopping platforms, short-form content, to election analysis. There are over 13,000 videos uploaded. Even if divided into parts, there are thousands of topics discussed. It is not unusual for mentions of ‘resources’ or ‘oil’ to overlap occasionally. He has talked about many things, so it is natural that he has mentioned something about any topic at some point.

Moreover, the video was filmed on January 14. Claims that “the government announcement came just two weeks after Cheongong’s words” are merely dramatic devices of conspiracy theories. Since he has talked extensively about so many topics, it is reasonable to assume that overlaps between his statements and the government’s announcements can happen quite easily. In the future, when the government makes another major announcement, it will not be difficult to dig through his YouTube channel to find the ‘shadow of Cheongong.’ Being fooled once is the deceiver’s fault, twice is foolishness, and thrice is complicity.

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