By Ian Werther in News — 14 Mar 2026

South Korea party faction demands accountability amid Kim Eo-jun News Factory controversy

A South Korean political faction allied with the party’s pro-Lee Jae-myung wing issued a sharp critique of Kim Eo-jun’s News Factory on the 13th, tying it to the controversy over what supporters call a “prosecution drop trade.” The group, The Democratic Nationwide Innovation Council, said Kim Eo-jun News Factory should not dodge accountability and urged clear apologies, reflection, and measures to prevent the spread of unverified allegations.

The commentary argued that if a media outlet claims to operate in the new media era, it must also meet corresponding standards of responsibility and ethics. It pressed for accountability commensurate with the platform’s reach and influence.

MAY 28, 2020, GRUNDY COUNTY, IA - A month-long investigation by the animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), in collaboration with Iowa Select Farms (ISF) employee whistleblowers, has exposed pigs shrieking in agony as they’re blasted with steam and heat exceeding 140 degrees in a barn with the ventilation ports closed. It’s a process animal agriculture industry insiders call “Ventilation Shutdown” or VSD, which DxE captured on hidden camera video. 2-3 hours into the process, workers carrying bolt guns open the doors and can be seen walking through the barn, glancing side-to-side and shooting pigs exhibiting obvious signs of life.
Investigators say this cruelty is a violation of Iowa state law, citing a legal opinion from a former federal prosecutor, as well as a veterinary opinion.
Industry veterinarians, ISF internal communications, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office and the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office contend that the practice is not only lawful but humane, but activists say these opinions have been unduly influenced by corporate lobbying. Moreover, an ISF whistleblower (“David”) says the choice to use VSD was one driven by profit; it’s cheaper to kill pigs on-site than to send them elsewhere to be killed.
DxE investigators submitted a criminal livestock neglect complaint to the Grundy County Sheriff’s Department, only to themselves be charged with trespassing at the request of Iowa Select Farms.
In consideration of the COVID-19 outbreak and other biosecurity concerns, DxE investigators followed veterinarian-approved biosecurity protocols while in the presence of live pigs in ISF facilities.
The DxE team’s lead investigator, native Iowan Matt Johnson, previously led an investigation of a Mahaska County pig farm owned by Iowa State Senator Ken Rozenboom. After the investigation was released in January, ISF posted a flyer at company facilities which tells employees (in Spanish) to contact a manager if Johnson is seen, and that “If he walks in, we’re fucked.” But this had an unintended consequence. David saw the Rozenboom investigation and reached out to Johnson and DxE with concerns about criminal animal cruelty occurring at ISF factory farms.
(DxE encourages industry workers, government employees, or anybody at all to submit testimony and evidence of industry misconduct at DxE.io/Whistle. Whistleblower anonymity will absolutely be respected unless explicitly authorized otherwise.)
DxE says Iowans are opposed to industry abuses, but are denied truthful information by the animal agriculture’s corrupting influence over our political system. And they say ISF is a prime example. Company owners Jeff and Deb Hansen and their son Michael have contributed over $300,000 to the campaign of Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, maintaining a cozy relationship with the state’s top official. Reynolds last year signed the state’s latest “ag-gag” statute into law, despite widespread public opposition, within just weeks of taking office.
But Johnson says people everywhere are wising up.
“An element of good that has emerged from the ravages of COVID-19, and of this investigation, is that the longstanding systemic abuses of animal agriculture have been openly exposed for the world to see,” he said. “It's a catastrophe for animals, workers, the environment, and public health, and now even the industry’s own workforce is rising up against it.”
David agrees, citing his own growing concerns over company misconduct.
“It was affecting me more and more every day -- feeling the compassion and empathy for these animals that we were working with every day,” he said.
As part of its #CancelAnimalAg campaign, DxE is calling on Governor Reynolds and government officials everywhere to address the impact of animal agriculture amid the coronavirus crisis. Rather than doubling-down with subsidies to continue propping up the industry, activists are calling for an end to the devastation once and for all.

Johnson said, “When we have a system that is fundamentally broken -- with government reinforcing, rather than regulating, an abusive industry which only serves those at the very top -- it’s left to ordinary people to take action ourselves and hold our elected officials accountable to the will of the people.” — Representative image for context; not directly related to the specific event in this article. License: CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Earlier, former MBC journalist Jang In-su appeared on Kim Eo-jun’s YouTube program and claimed that a high-ranking government official close to President Lee Jae-myung told top prosecutors to drop charges, implying the government would “trade” with investigators. The Democratic Party filed defamation and false-information charges against Jang, while Kim Eo-jun was not charged.

Kim Eo-jun responded on his YouTube channel, questioning why News Factory should apologize given its large audience, and saying that if lawsuits arise, they would defend themselves, framing the claims as unfounded. He signaled a readiness to contest legal action.

The Innovation Council contended that Kim Eo-jun News Factory played a decisive role in spreading the allegations and said the program was excluded from charges on grounds of legal review. They asserted that the program bears responsibility for the content it popularizes and public discussion it shapes.

Conservationists Edward O. Wilson and Peter H. Raven at a "fireside chat" at Yale University, at which they were awarded the Addison Emery Verrill Medal from the Peabody Museum of Natural History. — Representative image for context; not directly related to the specific event in this article. License: CC BY-SA 3.0. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Critics within the party argued that the absence of a corrective apology reflects poorly on the standards expected of a responsible, modern media platform that engages in political discourse. They warned that allowing such conduct without accountability undermines public trust.

For international readers, the episode highlights how media personalities, online platforms, and political factions interact in South Korea’s dynamic democracy. It underscores ongoing tensions over press freedom, accountability, and the use of defamation laws in a digitally driven information landscape. The case matters to U.S. audiences because South Korea remains a key ally in technology, security, and trade, where media narratives can influence public opinion, policy debates, and investor sentiment in a highly connected regional economy.

Subscribe to Journal of Korea