Telegram downloads surge in South Korea on fears of state censorship

Seoul: New installations of global messaging app Telegram have spiked in South Korea, data showed on Tuesday, as concerns brewed over possible media censorship following the martial law fiasco.

The number of new Telegram installations came to 40,576 cases last Tuesday, according to data compiled by industry tracker IGAWorks, the day President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, only to have it reversed by the National Assembly within hours.

The tally was more than fourfold of 9,016 new installations posted the previous day, reports Yonhap news agency.

Data also showed that Telegram was the most downloaded mobile messenger in the country from Tuesday to Friday last week.

Last month, Telegram ranked fourth on the list of newly downloaded mobile messengers here, while Line, a messenger developed by South Korean internet portal operator Naver Corp., was at the top spot.

Many internet users had expressed concerns over the possible shutdown of domestic messaging apps, such as KakaoTalk, or censorship on such platforms under martial law, saying they have downloaded Telegram as an alternative.

Meanwhile, prosecutors questioned former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun as part of an investigation into alleged treason following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law imposition last week.

Kim was a central figure in Yoon’s abrupt martial law declaration late Tuesday that lasted six hours before being withdrawn due to a National Assembly vote against it.

Some have suggested that Kim was the one who advised Yoon to declare martial law.

Kim, who resigned shortly after the lifting of martial law, voluntarily appeared at the Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office early Sunday, where he was taken into custody at a detention facility in eastern Seoul under emergency arrest provisions.

Under an emergency arrest, the prosecution has 48 hours to detain and question the suspect.

—IANS