Dark side of AfreecaTV, livestreamers in Korea

With the recent news of numerous AfreecaTV livestreamers -- commonly known here as "BJs" -- being arrested for drug use and accused of engaging in group sexual activities making waves, a spotlight has been shone on their conduct.

As livestreamers become increasingly successful in the entertainment market, pop-culture experts call to attention the circumstances that make livestreamers on AfreecaTV, the country’s largest one-person streaming platform, vulnerable to crime.

Explosive growth of AfreecaTV

AfreecaTV has seen explosive growth in recent years due to the rising popularity of one-person streaming broadcasts. While it faces competition from the newer and more strictly regulated Naver-owned Chzzk, AfreecaTV currently stands as the nation's top streaming platform in terms of monthly active users.

Last year, AfreecaTV logged its highest annual sales and operating profit since its launch, reaching 347 billion won ($261 million) and 90 billion won, respectively. Not adjusted for inflation, the numbers log 172 percent and 233 percent increases in sales and operating profits, respectively, compared to five years ago.

Riding high on the platform's popularity, streamers on AfreecaTV are also raking in the money.

According to PoongToday, AfreecaTV's site for tracking star balloon payments, the top-earning livestreamer, BJ Commando Zico, earned some 32 billion won last year. Star balloons refer to AfreecaTV's digital currency that viewers can send to streamers, which can later be converted into real cash.

BJ Commando Zico streams in the "Excel broadcast" genre, which features a male livestreamer as the host and several female livestreamers as guests. The type of broadcast has been so nicknamed because it ranks the number of star balloons female livestreamers receive in a spreadsheet-style format.

According to PoongToday, the top-earning livestreamers on AfreecaTV make between 10 billion and 30 billion won annually.

Yet despite their success, or perhaps because of it, livestreamers have repeatedly been linked to criminal activities.

AfreecaTV BJ Kim Gang-pae was arrested earlier this week on accusations that he had used drugs such as ketamine multiple times over the past year. Some 10 other individuals, including female livestreamers active on AfreecaTV, were also charged with drug use in connection with Kim.

Lack of protection, trends on AfreecaTV fuel criminal activities

Fame and money, along with a lack of the protection offered at least nominally by official entities such as agencies, can leave livestreamers particularly vulnerable to becoming engaged in criminal activities.

"Because they are well-known to many people, any vulnerabilities they have can serve as critical weaknesses. As a result, BJs may often find themselves in situations where they must comply with demands, which can lead to involvement in drug use or sex crimes," said pop culture critic Kim Hern-sik.

"In the case of celebrities, their agencies provide protective measures, but for independent media creators, there is no system in place to manage risks when a crisis occurs," he said.

The rise of Excel broadcasts on AfreecaTV is also seen as fueling criminal activities on the platform. "As 'Excel broadcasts' have become mainstream and personal broadcasting has become more challenging to do on AfreecaTV, BJs need to attach themselves to so-called 'powerful circles' to make money," said BJ Gamdonglan in a live broadcast Friday.

"During the process, BJs have to engage in drug use and sexual relations. If they don't, they are excluded from those circles and lose sponsorships," she said. "(AfreecaTV) is an animal kingdom filled with 'cyberpimps' and sex trafficking," she added.

An AfreecaTV official told The Korea Herald that as a platform operator it has no control over what the livestreamers do.

"If a BJ performs criminal activities on-screen, we have measures to immediately shut down the broadcast," said an official from AfreecaTV. "However, we have no control over what the BJs do when they are not broadcasting," he said.

AfreecaTV's platform policy on its site does not specifically state that it bans activities by former convicts or criminals.

However, the AfreecaTV official noted that it in effect bans former convicts or criminals from engaging in activities on the platform through its policy that allows the company to shut down an individual's channel in cases of serious violations, such as causing social controversy or damaging the service's image.

The official admitted it is difficult to effectively ban streamers who have a criminal history or are facing allegations.

"There is simply so much to monitor and so much to take into account," he said.