Last week, Kim Kwon-seop, 72, joined thousands of people who gather daily near the home of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. They were determined to protect Mr. Yoon from prosecutors who wanted to arrest him on sedition charges. his declaration of short-term martial law last month.
They say it was the opposition that rebelled, abusing its majority power in the Assembly to repeatedly block Mr. Yoon's political initiatives. According to them, the parliamentary majority of the opposition was therefore invalid last April's election was forged. And for them, protecting Mr. Yoon was synonymous with protecting South Korea from “North Korean followers” who have entrenched themselves everywhere in society, from the judiciary to schools to the news media.
South Koreans typically dismiss such conspiracy theories as online demagoguery spread by right-wing YouTubers with the help of social media algorithms. But amid the country's entrenched political polarization, they have fueled confusion over Mr. Yoon's condition, with religious zealots like Mr. Kim taking to the streets en masse to call for the president's return to office.
“Every day when I leave the house for this rally, I tell my wife that this is the last time she will see me alive because I am ready to die for my cause,” Mr. Kim said. “It's not just about protecting President Yoon. It's about saving my country for my generation.”
If President-elect Donald J. Trump has a Make America Great Again movement behind him, Mr. Yoon's “taegeukgi budda” (literally “national flag brigade”). It mostly consists of elderly, church-going South Koreans enlivening their rallies with patriotic songs, a wave of South Korean and American flags supporting their country's alliance with Washington, and violent attacks on the nation's feared left-wing politicians. they will surrender their countries to China and North Korea
“We won!” On Friday, investigators shouted at Mr. Yoon's flag-waving supporters withdrew from was sent to the president's residence by the court's decision to not take his statement.
“Yoon Suk Yeol depends on South Korea's version of MAGA to hold power,” said Ahn Byong-jin, a political science professor at Kyung Hee University in Seoul.
Mr. Yoon tapped into right-wing fear and anger when he declared martial law on Dec. 3 to “eliminate in one fell swoop the despicable pro-North Korean and anti-state forces.” But his attempt to bring his country under military rule for the first time in 45 years lasted only hours. The opposition-dominated National Assembly voted to repeal it and then impeached him.
The ousted Mr. Yoon now faces a trial at the Constitutional Court, which will decide whether he should be formally removed from office. He is also under separate investigation by prosecutors who accuse him of sedition when he ordered troops to seize Parliament and arrest political enemies during martial law.
Mr. Yoon's strongest defenders are his flag-waving supporters and right-wing YouTubers who praise him, according to public opinion polls that show a majority of South Koreans want him ousted. champion of union promotion with Washington. These YouTubers, some with close to a million subscribers, are calling for Mr. Yoon's reinstatement and live-streaming pro-Yoon rallies where speakers call it a “coup” at the behest of North Korea. They also strengthen political polarization by targeting Mr. Yoon's progressive enemies with conspiracy theories.
Right-wing YouTubers have long boasted of their friendship with Mr. Yoon after dozens were invited to his inauguration in 2022. After her failed military career, Mr. Yoon had no doubt that she was a big fan.
“I am watching your fight in real time via YouTube live streaming,” Mr. Yoon said in a message to supporters gathered outside his home on New Year's Day. “Our country is under threat because of confused anti-state forces, as well as forces at home and abroad that are undermining our sovereignty.”
Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer who served as Mr. Yoon's spokesman during Wednesday's rally, said thanked the right-wing YouTubers there and called the investigators trying to detain Mr. Yoon a “front” for the opposition.
“This is war,” he said. “And you are warriors.”
Like other democracies, South Korea is grappling with the role of social media in shaping politics. According to a 2023 report by the Korea Press Foundation, about 53 percent of South Koreans say they consume news on YouTube, higher than the 30 percent average across the 46 countries surveyed. .
Analysts worry that algorithmically generated information bubbles serve more than the type of content people are interested in watching. Former lawmaker and columnist Hong Sung-guk said.
“Yoon's is probably the first rebellion in the world fueled by algorithm addiction,” Mr. Hong said.
All of the dozens of attendees at a recent pro-Yoon rally interviewed for this article strongly believed in conspiracy theories and said right-wing YouTubers were their main or only source of news.
“They are telling the truth,” said 72-year-old Kim Jae-seung. “I don't read newspapers and I don't turn on the TV anymore. They are full of prejudice.”
Kim Yong-son, 70, pulled out his battered smartphone and played a video depicting progressive leaders hell-bent on severing South Korea's alliance with the United States and making deals with North Korea and China — viral content created by the populist right. wing pastor, Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon.
In 1980 Chun Doo-hwanthe leader of the military junta ruling the country at the time justified the imposition of martial law by citing threats from “North Korean puppets” and “dangerous elements” at home.
After him, his own political problems deepened scandals and disasterMr. Yoon aligned himself more openly with the radicalized political right. He accused unfriendly journalists of spreading the word.fake news” and called his political enemies subscribers of “communist totalitarianism”. He even appointed a right-wing YouTuber to head a training center for civil servants.
Long before Mr. Yoon declared martial law, some right-wing YouTubers urged him to take such a step to fight his domestic enemies. They are also spread sinophobia, He pointed out that China is a secret manipulator of domestic politics, including elections in South Korea. Rallies of his supporters are often echoed with calls to “kick out the Chinese”. Mr. Yoon raised fears of Chinese spies when he defended martial law.
Mr. Yoon and right-wing YouTubers also argue that South Korea's election results are no longer valid. Yoon's supporters often carry signs reading “Stop Stealing,” a take on the term popularized in the U.S. by those who claim the 2020 presidential election is being rigged against Mr. Trump. Shin Eun-ju, 52, cited YouTube as the source and said she believes the voice-faking theory.
The police and prosecutor's offices, as well as the election authorities, have long rejected this claim as groundless. But when Mr. Yoon declared martial law, he also sent troops to the National Election Commission to investigate allegations of vote rigging. According to prosecutors, military officers involved in his martial law ordered the seizure of the commission's computer servers and the arrest, binding, blindfolding and interrogation of senior election observers to an underground military bunker for alleged election fraud. (Martial law ended before any computers were seized or people were taken.)
Mr. Yoon and his lawyers have not commented on the specific charges, and they have broadly denied allegations of rebellion, calling his actions a legitimate exercise of presidential power.
Cho Gab-jae, a well-known conservative journalist, said: “It is clear that the president is lost in his mind with outlandish conspiracy theories about vote fraud while watching low-quality YouTube channels.”
Mr. Yoon's lawyer, Yoon Kab-keun, said the allegations of rigged elections were strong and divisive enough to merit investigation.
Google Korea said it manages YouTube content according to community guidelines.
Ironically, it was but also YouTube This helped spread the word that Mr Yoon had declared martial law on the night of December 3, prompting citizens to rush to the National Assembly to delay the troop advance and buy opposition lawmakers time to vote on martial law.
“It was a clash between the different roles of algorithms,” Mr Hong said. “Algorithms help information go viral, but they also help make you a slave to it.”