"Gaseyeon Kim Se-se, YouTube Super Chat World No. 1 + Annual Sales of 5 billion won" [PD Notebook]

*This content was translated by AI.

MBC's 'PD Notebook' examines the controversy surrounding YouTube channel 'Garoseoro Research Institute' (Gaseyeon).

'PD Notebook' will air an episode titled "Hunter and Prey: Gaseyeon's Dangerous Survival Method" on the 14th.

Gaseyeon held a press conference, claiming to present evidence that actor Kim Soo-hyun dated the late Kim Sae-ron while she was a minor, releasing KakaoTalk screenshots and voice recordings. However, in June, Gaseyeon CEO Kim Se-se was arrested and indicted. Police determined that Gaseyeon manipulated the KakaoTalk screenshots by inserting Kim Soo-hyun's name and photo into chats where the other party remained unidentified, and also released the voice files without sufficient verification.

For eight years, Gaseyeon relentlessly exposed politicians, celebrities, and business executives alike, leveraging view counts, donations, and advertising revenue to stir up online public opinion. 'PD Notebook' traced the flow of money that drove Gaseyeon.

YouTuber Eun Hyeon-jang, who gained widespread popularity with content offering solutions for small business owners, surpassed one million YouTube subscribers and appeared across major terrestrial broadcasters before beginning to waver under Gaseyeon's allegations. Various suspicions arose, including stock manipulation and involvement in remittances to North Korea. Despite Eun Hyeon-jang's explanations, the controversy did not subside easily. Protests demanding accountability were held outside broadcasting stations, causing subscriptions to plummet sharply. Ultimately, he withdrew from a broadcast he was appearing on. With advertising contracts canceled, he even had to pay substantial liquidated damages, and eventually, his company closed down.

"I thought that if I wrote Kim Se-se's name in my suicide note and jumped, Kim Se-se would be punished," Eun Hyeon-jang said, explaining that behind this lay the "logic of money." The structure was such that the exposure itself directly led to Gaseyeon's revenue. Instead of relying solely on the slow pace of investigations, Eun Hyeon-jang secured 50% of Gaseyeon's shares and rewatched broadcasts to track donation records and advertising details. Exposure that upended someone's life was content that turned into money for others.

A representative of a cryptocurrency company received crude insults such as "scammer" and "gangster" from Gaseyeon. Yet, just days later, he appeared on Gaseyeon to clear his name, and Gaseyeon instead defended him. The arrows aimed at Gaseyeon had already shifted direction, now targeting another YouTuber, Oh Byung-min (stage name Okking), with whom he had conflicts. A similar situation occurred with Group A Jeon (Chairman) that 'PD Notebook' interviewed. Just days after the teaser for an exposure video was released, the promised broadcast vanished as if it had never existed.

The testimonies of YouTuber Oh Byung-min and Group A Jeon (Chairman) were surprisingly similar. Following aggressive broadcasts, money or sponsored gifts were mentioned or actually exchanged in exchange for taking down videos or halting further exposures. In an actual voice recording obtained by 'PD Notebook' involving Gaseyeon Kim Se-ui (CEO), the words "advertisement" and "money envelope" repeatedly appeared. This report reveals for the first time the reality of Gaseyeon's dangerous "revenue model," in which exposure is halted through financial transactions after allegations are raised.

Despite repeated controversies over spreading false information and invading privacy, Gaseyeon's influence rarely diminished. At its peak, it ranked No. 1 worldwide on YouTube Super Chat, and its annual sales in 2022 reached approximately 5 billion won. Behind this growth were countless victims who suffered due to Gaseyeon's exposures.

So how was Gaseyeon able to maintain such powerful influence for eight years? It began with three people: Kim Se-se, a former terrestrial broadcaster reporter; Kang Yong-seok, a lawyer and former member of the National Assembly; and the late Kim Yong-ho, a former entertainment journalist. One critic described this combination as "the worst combination and also the strongest combination." These three individuals, each penetrating media, politics, and yellow journalism respectively, came together to create a new business model that would later be called "cyber leaker."

After shifting to a one-person leadership under Kim Se-se, Gaseyeon has not only pursued increasingly sensational exposures to maintain its past influence but also packaged itself as a unique "right-wing speaker" representing the conservative camp. Kim Se-ui (CEO) constantly showcased close ties with prominent political figures through broadcasts and, even during police investigations for defamation charges, claimed the case was political persecution by asserting "external pressure from the administration and law enforcement authorities." Testimonies even emerged that within the law enforcement authorities handling the Gaseyeon case, no one wanted to take on the investigation due to political burdens.

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*This content was translated by AI.