Main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy lawmakers are shunning the mobile messenger app KakaoTalk over concerns that their conversations might be leaked.
According to reports, NPAD lawmakers’ group chatroom has all but been abandoned with less than a handful of lawmakers continuing to communicate through it.
The comments posted on the group chatroom are mainly said to concern official duties regarding the ongoing parliamentary audit of government agencies. Until recently, NPAD lawmakers reportedly used KakaoTalk to discuss issues related to the party and political issues.
The sudden change appears to have been fueled by a local media organization gaining access to the contents of the chatroom after former NPAD floor leader Rep. Park Young-sun appointed Chung Ang University professor emeritus Lee Sang-don as chief of the emergency committee.
Lee’s conservative colors and his background incited widespread criticism and dealt a severe blow to Park’s leadership.
An unnamed NPAD lawmaker told a local news agency that a news outlet gaining access to NPAD legislators’ conversation sparked suspicion that someone from inside the party leaked mobile chat messages to the media, which in turn led to KakaoTalk falling out of favor for opposition party members.
The NPAD lawmakers’ defection to other messenger services such as Telegram is said to have been accelerated by the recent cybersurveillance scandal that sparked off yet another clash between the ruling and opposition parties.
The scandal centers on allegations that government monitors read messages sent on KakaoTalk in order to sift out remarks critical of President Park Geun-hye and her administration.
The government has denied the allegations, and KakaoTalk service provider Daum Kakao apologized, saying it cooperated with government requests for information about its users when they were made through official and legitimate channels.
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
