Yoon’s arrest fuels massive earnings for South Korean political YouTubers
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, in Gwacheon, South Korea, on Jan 15.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
SEOUL - South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol being taken into custody on Jan 15,
As public interest in Mr Yoon’s dramatic fall from power surged, YouTube channels broadcasting live coverage of protests and legal developments saw donations pour in through the platform’s Super Chat feature, exposing a growing trend of monetising political crises.
Progressive channel tops global Super Chat earnings
Progressive channels, which largely oppose Mr Yoon, led the earnings. Cat News, a pro-Democratic Party channel, was the top performer, earning 26.15 million won (roughly S$24,500) on Jan 14 alone, according to analytics platform Playboard. This single-day haul made it the highest-earning YouTube channel globally in Super Chat revenue.
Despite a relatively modest subscriber base of 540,000, the channel’s 12-hour live stream titled Arrest of the 24-Hour Chief of the Hannam-dong Uprising drew over 1.03 million views. Viewers sent donations ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 won, along with messages like “Thank you for standing up for democracy” and “Please keep going”. The momentum continued the next day, when the channel earned 9 million won in Super Chat revenue.
Another progressive outlet, Kim Eo-jun’s News Factory, earned 11.07 million won on Jan 14 through its live broadcast, Yoon Suk Yeol Arrest Live, which peaked at 650,000 concurrent viewers. In a particularly striking moment, the channel received 2.8 million won in donations within just 10 minutes as news of Mr Yoon’s arrest broke. The video has since reached nine million total views.
Conservative channels face backlash
Conservative YouTubers, while also drawing significant donations, encountered mixed reception. Shin-ui Han-soo (tubeshin), a prominent right-wing channel with 1.62 million subscribers, earned 5.57 million won through live streams such as Emergency: We Stop the Dawn Raid of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials!
However, as news of Mr Yoon’s arrest spread, many viewers expressed frustration, accusing the channel of failing to prevent the situation. Comments like “You’re taking donations but doing nothing” and “What’s the point of just giving speeches?” reflected growing dissatisfaction among its supporters.
Witness K, another conservative channel, earned 3 million won through live coverage of protests but faced similar criticism. Viewers accused the channel of exploiting the crisis for profit, with some commenting, “You’re just broadcasting provocative scenes to rake in donations”.
Mr Lee Jun-seok, leader of the conservative New Reform Party, condemned the business model fuelling this trend of monetising political crises. “The conservative party has collapsed under the wave of YouTubers spreading fake or exaggerated news to incite emotions and profit through Super Chats,” he said.
“Citizens need to stay alert and recognise how these platforms exploit political turmoil for financial gain.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
