Lee Jong-won of Sisa Tapa Supported Jung Cheong-rae After Abandoning Kim Min-seok: A Full Analysis of 6,890 Titles Over 10 Years

Reporter Park Dae-yong presented an analysis claiming that Lee Jong-won, CEO of Sisa Tapa, 'demonized' former leader Kim Min-seok to get Representative Jung Cheong-rae elected, and even held President Lee Jae-myung's approval rating hostage. This is the result of a comprehensive analysis of 6,890 broadcast titles from Lee Jong-won's channel over 10 years. This analysis suggests that Lee Jong-won's change in attitude towards specific politicians was a strategic move beyond mere differences of opinion.

Reporter Park Dae-yong testified that he first learned about Lee Jong-won through AfreecaTV's Sisa Tapa broadcast shortly after the Sewol Ferry disaster in 2014. At the time, Lee Jong-won was using Newstapa's videos without authorization, and Park shared his experience of contacting Lee Jong-won regarding this issue. This incident marked their first encounter and served as an early impression of Sisa Tapa's content production methods.

It has been revealed that Kim Min-seok, former Democratic Party leader, currently in a hostile relationship with Lee Jong-won, CEO of Sisa Tapa, previously hosted 'Kim Min-seok's 100-Minute Debate' on the Sisa Tapa channel. This past makes the current change in their relationship feel even more dramatic. The fact that those who once had a close collaborative relationship are now criticizing and attacking each other raises questions about the background of this relational shift.

Lee Jong-won, CEO of Sisa Tapa, dramatically changed his attitude towards former leader Kim Min-seok in just seven and a half months. On June 16, 2025, he strongly supported Kim Min-seok through a broadcast titled 'We Must Protect Kim Min-seok'. However, on February 1, 2026, he aired a broadcast attacking Kim Min-seok under the title 'Kim Min-seok's Vile Politics'. Questions are raised about the background of such a complete reversal in stance within such a short period.

Reporter Park Dae-yong tracked changes in Sisa Tapa's reporting style on Kim Min-seok and Jung Cheong-rae from 2016 to the present to uncover why Sisa Tapa adopted a hostile attitude towards former leader Kim Min-seok and absolutely supported Representative Jung Cheong-rae. By analyzing the daily broadcast titles of the Sisa Tapa channel, he aimed to understand the reasons behind this change in attitude and resolve questions that viewers had long wondered about.

In June 2025, Sisa Tapa strongly supported former leader Kim Min-seok. During this period, Jung Cheong-rae was mentioned only 3 times, while Kim Min-seok was mentioned 31 times, a difference of more than 10 times. Sisa Tapa actively defended Kim Min-seok against various allegations, including asset issues, and showered him with praise. This past favorable stance towards Kim Min-seok sharply contrasts with its current change in attitude.

In just 14 months, the frequency of appearances of Representative Jung Cheong-rae and former leader Kim Min-seok on the Sisa Tapa channel completely reversed. As of August this year, out of a total of 145 videos, Jung Cheong-rae was mentioned in 63, while mentions of Kim Min-seok sharply decreased. This means Jung Cheong-rae's name was exposed twice a day, indicating that the channel's main interest completely shifted from Kim Min-seok to Jung Cheong-rae.

The decisive moment when Lee Jong-won, CEO of Sisa Tapa, began attacking former leader Kim Min-seok is identified as January 31, 2026. Until that day, Sisa Tapa was friendly towards Kim Min-seok, but immediately the next day, February 1, it began critical broadcasts under the title 'Kim Min-seok's Vile Politics'. This shift in attitude appears to have been triggered by the incident where Representative Lee Won-ju requested an attack on Representative Jung Cheong-rae via Telegram. Following this incident, Lee Jong-won declared himself and Jung Cheong-rae 'partners in destiny' and began attacking Kim Min-seok.

The practical reason Lee Jong-won, CEO of Sisa Tapa, attacked former leader Kim Min-seok is analyzed to be a defense mechanism for Jung Cheong-rae's consecutive terms as party leader. Lee Jong-won began attacking Kim Min-seok when he perceived that Kim Min-seok was trying to remove Jung Cheong-rae and become party leader. This is interpreted as a strategy to preemptively eliminate any forces that could threaten Jung Cheong-rae's presumed consecutive terms as party leader. Sisa Tapa's actions demonstrate its focus on maintaining Jung Cheong-rae's party leadership.

Lee Jong-won, CEO of Sisa Tapa, began to make former leader Kim Min-seok his primary target of attack from February 6, 2024. As Kim Min-seok's movements to run for party leader, which could threaten Jung Cheong-rae's potential consecutive terms, were detected, Sisa Tapa launched a campaign to prevent Kim Min-seok from becoming party leader, asserting 'Kim Min-seok securing party leader nomination to remove Jung Cheong-rae'. This is evaluated as a turning point that revealed strong support for the maintenance of a specific politician's party leadership.

On February 18, 2024, the term 'New Lee Jae-myung' first appeared in Sisa Tapa broadcast titles. Instead of directly attacking President Lee Jae-myung, Sisa Tapa formed a new frame by labeling and attacking those who supported President Lee Jae-myung as 'New Lee Jae-myung'. This appears to be an attempt to deliver critical messages to President Lee Jae-myung while avoiding backlash from Democratic Party supporters. The term 'New Lee Jae-myung' was used as a strategic tool created by Lee Jong-won to achieve specific political objectives.

It is argued that terms like 'True Lee', 'New Lee Jae-myung', and 'New Park' used by Sisa Tapa in its broadcasts were employed as tools to attack forces that could impede Jung Cheong-rae's consecutive terms as party leader. Reporter Park Dae-yong emphasized that Lee Jong-won played the role of branding anyone who obstructed Jung Cheong-rae from becoming party leader and serving consecutive terms with a 'scarlet letter'. The use of such terminology demonstrates Sisa Tapa's strategic moves to achieve specific political goals.

After mid-August, Sisa Tapa shifted to a direct critical stance towards President Lee Jae-myung. While previously avoiding direct attacks on President Lee Jae-myung due to concerns about supporter backlash, it now raised the level of criticism, including allegations of government-orchestrated elections. Specifically, reporter Park Dae-yong revealed that Lee Jong-won expressed his desire that "President Lee Jae-myung not be re-elected." This suggests that Sisa Tapa's target has expanded beyond Jung Cheong-rae's consecutive terms as party leader to President Lee Jae-myung's future political trajectory.

A comprehensive analysis of 10 years of broadcast titles confirmed that Sisa Tapa's ultimate goal is the maintenance of Jung Cheong-rae's party leadership. Reporter Park Dae-yong concluded that Sisa Tapa targeted even President Lee Jae-myung without exception if he was perceived as a threat to Jung Cheong-rae. This clearly demonstrates that Sisa Tapa has operated its channel not merely to support a specific individual, but as a means to solidify Jung Cheong-rae's political position.