EGN NEWS DESK
Every day for the previous week, Kim Kwon-seop, 72, has joined hundreds of others gathered close to the house of South Korea’s impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol. They had been decided to protect Mr. Yoon from prosecutors who wished to detain him on rebel fees stemming from his short-lived declaration of martial legislation final month.
To them, it was the opposition who had dedicated rebel, abusing its majority energy on the Assembly to repeatedly block Mr. Yoon’s political initiatives. To them, the opposition’s parliamentary majority was invalid as a result of the election final April was rigged. And to them, defending Mr. Yoon was synonymous with defending South Korea from “North Korea followers” who’ve taken root in each nook of their society, from the judiciary to varsities to the information media.
South Koreans generally dismiss such conspiracy theories as little greater than on-line demagoguery unfold by right-wing YouTubers with the assistance of social media algorithms. But amid the nation’s entrenched political polarization, they’ve fueled the turmoil over Mr. Yoon’s scenario, driving zealous believers like Mr. Kim to take to the streets in giant numbers, calling for the president’s return to workplace.
“When I depart house for this rally on daily basis, I inform my spouse that this can be the final time she sees me alive, as a result of I’m able to die for my trigger,” Mr. Kim stated. “This isn’t just about defending President Yoon. It’s about saving my nation for my descendants.”
If President-elect Donald J. Trump has a “Make America Great Again” motion behind him, Mr. Yoon has the “taegeukgi budae” (actually, “national-flag brigade”). It consists of principally older, churchgoing South Koreans who enliven their rallies with patriotic songs, a wave of South Korean and American flags in help of their nation’s alliance with Washington, and vitriolic assaults on the nation’s left-wing politicians, who they worry would hand their nation over to China and North Korea.
“We received!” flag-waving supporters of Mr. Yoon shouted on Friday when investigators retreated from the presidential residence after failing to serve a courtroom warrant to detain him for questioning.
“Yoon Suk Yeol is relying on the South Korean model of MAGA to carry onto energy,” stated Ahn Byong-jin, a professor of political science at Kyung Hee University in Seoul.
Mr. Yoon invoked the right-wing worry and indignation when he declared martial legislation on Dec. 3 to “remove the despicable pro-North Korean and anti-state forces at one stroke.” But his try to put his nation beneath army rule for the primary time in 45 years lasted solely hours. The opposition-dominant National Assembly voted to rescind it and later impeached him.
Suspended from workplace, Mr. Yoon now faces a trial on the Constitutional Court, which is able to resolve whether or not to formally take away him. He can be topic to separate investigations from prosecutors, who’ve accused him of committing rebel when he ordered troops to grab the Assembly and to detain his political enemies throughout his martial legislation.
With public surveys exhibiting a majority of South Koreans wanting him ousted, Mr. Yoon’s strongest defenders are his flag-waving supporters and the right-wing YouTubers, who glorify him as a champion of selling the alliance with Washington. These YouTubers, some with round one million subscribers, demand Mr. Yoon’s reinstatement and livestream pro-Yoon rallies, the place audio system name the efforts to take away him a “coup d’état” at North Korea’s behest. They additionally reinforce political polarization by channeling conspiracy theories in opposition to Mr. Yoon’s progressive enemies.
Right-wing YouTubers have lengthy boasted of their friendship with Mr. Yoon, after dozens of them had been invited to his inauguration in 2022. In the wake of his botched martial legislation, Mr. Yoon left little doubt that he was an enormous fan.
“I’m watching your battle in actual time via YouTube livestreaming,” Mr. Yoon stated in a message to his supporters gathered outdoors his house on New Year’s Day. “Our nation is at risk due to anti-state forces operating amok, in addition to forces in and outdoors who violate our sovereignty.”
During a rally on Wednesday, Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer who serves as Mr. Yoon’s spokesman, thanked right-wing YouTubers there and known as the investigators making an attempt to detain Mr. Yoon “a entrance” for the opposition.
“This is conflict,” he stated. “And you’re warriors.”
Like different democracies, South Korea has grappled with the position of social media in shaping politics. About 53 % of South Koreans say they eat information on YouTube, larger than a mean of 30 % in 46 nations surveyed, in accordance with a 2023 report by Korea Press Foundation.
Analysts fear that algorithm-fueled data bubbles, with individuals frequently served extra of the kind of content material they’ve expressed curiosity in by watching, are serving to divide the nation. The language and conspiracy theories Mr. Yoon and his supporters adopted mirror these purveyed by right-wing YouTubers, stated Hong Sung-guk, a former lawmaker and columnist.
“Yoon’s is probably going the world’s first rebel instigated by algorithm addictions,” Mr. Hong stated.
A dozen members in a latest pro-Yoon rally interviewed for this text had been all agency believers within the conspiracy theories, saying that right-wing YouTubers had been their major or solely supply of stories.
“They converse the reality,” stated Kim Jae-seung, 72. “I not learn newspapers or activate TV. They are filled with bias.”
Kim Yong-son, 70, pulled out his battered smartphone to indicate a video clip that depicted the progressive leaders as hellbent on undermining South Korea’s alliance with the United States and colluding with North Korea and China — viral content material created by the favored right-wing pastor, the Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon.
In 1980, Chun Doo-hwan, the chief of the army junta that dominated the nation on the time, justified imposing martial legislation by citing the threats from “North Korean puppets” and “harmful parts” at house.
As his personal political troubles deepened within the wake of scandals and catastrophe, Mr. Yoon aligned himself extra overtly with the radicalized political proper. He accused unfriendly journalists of spreading “faux information” and known as his political enemies subscribers to “Communist totalitarianism.” He even appointed a right-wing YouTuber as head of the middle for coaching authorities officers.
Long earlier than Mr. Yoon’s declaration of martial legislation, a number of the right-wing YouTubers had urged him to take such an motion to cope with his home enemies. They additionally unfold sinophobia, hinting that China was a secret manipulator of home politics in South Korea, together with its elections. Rallies of his supporters usually ring with requires “expelling Chinese.” Mr. Yoon raised fears of Chinese spies whereas defending his martial legislation.
Mr. Yoon and right-wing YouTubers additionally argue that election ends in South Korea are not reliable. Pro-Yoon supporters usually carry indicators saying “Stop the Steal,” borrowing a time period made fashionable by individuals within the United States who falsely claimed that the poll depend for the 2020 presidential election was manipulated in opposition to Mr. Trump. One of them, Shin Eun-ju, 52, stated she believed the vote fraud concept, citing “YouTube” as her supply.
The police and prosecutors, in addition to the election authorities, have lengthy dismissed the allegation as groundless. But when Mr. Yoon declared martial legislation, he additionally despatched troops to the National Election Commission to research allegations of vote fraud. Military officers concerned in his martial legislation decree had directions, prosecutors stated, to confiscate the fee’s pc servers and detain senior election screens, tying, blindfolding and taking them to an underground army bunker for questioning about election fraud. (Martial legislation ended earlier than any computer systems had been seized or individuals taken away.)
Mr. Yoon and his attorneys haven’t commented on particular allegations, they usually have broadly denied allegations of rebel, calling his acts the professional train of presidential energy.
“It’s clear that the president misplaced his thoughts to outlandish vote-fraud conspiracy theories whereas watching low-quality YouTube channels,” stated Cho Gab-je, a outstanding conservative journalist.
Mr. Yoon’s lawyer, Yoon Kab-keun, stated the allegations of rigged elections had been robust and divisive sufficient to benefit an investigation.
Google Korea stated it manages YouTube contents in accordance with its neighborhood pointers.
Ironically, it was additionally YouTube that helped information of Mr. Yoon’s declaration of martial legislation go viral on the evening of Dec. 3, prompting residents to hurry to the National Assembly to delay the advance of troops and purchase time for opposition lawmakers to vote down the martial legislation.
“It was a conflict between the totally different roles of algorithms,” Mr. Hong stated. “Algorithms assist data go viral, but additionally assist make you a slave to it.”
