Daily for the previous week, Kim Kwon Seop, 72, has joined hundreds of others gathered close to the house of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. They have been decided to guard Mr. Yoon from prosecutors who wished to arrest him on sedition expenses stemming from his short-lived declaration of martial law final month.
To them, it was the opposition that had dedicated a insurrection, abusing its majority within the Meeting to repeatedly block Mr. Yun’s coverage initiatives. For them, the parliamentary majority of the opposition was invalid as a result of the election last April was manipulated. And for them, defending Mr. Yoon was synonymous with defending South Korea from “North Korean followers” who’ve taken root in each nook of their society, from the judiciary to varsities to the information media.
South Koreans typically dismiss such conspiracy theories as little greater than on-line demagoguery unfold by right-wing YouTubers utilizing social media algorithms. However amid the nation’s entrenched political polarization, they’ve fueled pleasure over Mr. Yun’s plight, prompting fervent believers like Mr. Kim to take to the streets in giant numbers calling for the president’s return to workplace.
“Once I depart residence for this rally each day, 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 mentioned. “This isn’t nearly defending President Yun. It’s about saving my nation for my descendants.”
If President-elect Donald J. Trump has the Make America Nice Once more motion behind him, Mr. Yoon has “taegeukgi buddha” (actually “brigade below the nationwide flag”). It consists of largely older, church-going South Koreans who enliven their rallies with patriotic songs, a flurry of South Korean and American flags in help of their nation’s alliance with Washington, and scathing assaults on the nation’s feared left-wing politicians they might hand over their nation to China and North Korea.
“We received!” flag-waving supporters of Mr. Yun shouted on Friday as investigators retreat from the presidential residence after failing to serve a court docket order to detain him for questioning.
“Yoon Suk-yeol is determined by South Korea’s model of MAGA to hold on to energy,” mentioned Ahn Byeong-jin, a professor of political science at Kyung Hee College in Seoul.
Mr Yoon sparked concern and outrage on the precise when he declared martial regulation on December 3 to “eradicate in a single fell swoop the despicable pro-North Korean and anti-state forces”. However his try and convey his nation below army rule for the primary time in 45 years lasted solely hours. The opposition-dominated Nationwide Meeting voted to repeal it later impeach him.
Faraway from workplace, Mr Yoon now faces a trial on the Constitutional Court docket, which is able to resolve whether or not to formally take away him. He’s additionally the topic of separate investigations by prosecutors, who accused him of committing an rebellion when he ordered troops to grab the meeting and detain his political enemies throughout his martial regulation.
With public opinion polls exhibiting a majority of South Koreans need him eliminated, Mr Yoon’s strongest defenders are his flag-waving supporters and right-wing YouTubers who hail him as alliance promotion champion with Washington. These YouTubers, some with round one million subscribers, have been demanding Mr. Yun’s reinstatement and have live-streamed rallies in help of Yun, the place audio system have referred to as efforts to take away him a “coup d’état” on the behest of North Korea. Additionally they reinforce political polarization by focusing on conspiracy theories in opposition to Mr. Yoon’s progressive enemies.
Proper-wing YouTubers have lengthy boasted of their friendship with Mr Yun after dozens of them have been invited to his inauguration in 2022. Because of his failed army place, Mr. Yoon left little doubt that he was an enormous fan.
“I’m watching your battle in actual time through a reside stream on YouTube,” Mr Yun mentioned in a message to his supporters gathered exterior his residence on New 12 months’s Day. “Our nation is in peril from raging anti-state forces, in addition to forces inside and out of doors that violate our sovereignty.”
At a rally on Wednesday, Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer who serves as Mr. Yoon’s spokesman, thanks right youtubers there and referred to as the investigators making an attempt to detain Mr. Yun a “entrance” for the opposition.
“That is conflict,” he mentioned. “And you might be warriors.”
Like different democracies, South Korea has struggled with the position of social media in shaping politics. About 53 % of South Koreans say they devour information on YouTube, up from a mean of 30 % in 46 nations surveyed, in line with a 2023 report. of the Korea Press Basis.
Analysts fear that algorithm-fueled data bubbles, as individuals are consistently provided extra of the kind of content material they’ve expressed curiosity in by watching, are serving to to divide the nation. The language and conspiracy theories espoused by Mr. Yoon and his supporters mirror these offered by right-wing YouTubers, mentioned Hong Sung-guk, a former lawmaker and columnist.
“Yoon’s rebellion might be the world’s first rebellion fueled by an algorithm habit,” Mr. Hong mentioned.
A dozen individuals in a current pro-Yun rally interviewed for this text have been all staunch conspiracy theorists, saying right-wing YouTubers have been their fundamental or solely supply of stories.
“They communicate the reality,” mentioned Kim Jae-seung, 72. “I do not learn newspapers or watch TV anymore. They’re filled with bias.
Kim Yong-son, 70, took out his battered smartphone to point out a video clip that portrayed progressive leaders as bent on undermining South Korea’s alliance with the USA and colluding with North Korea and China – viral content material produced by the favored right-wing pastor, Reverend Jun Kwang Hoon.
In 1980 Chun Doo-hwanthe chief of the army junta that dominated the nation on the time justified the imposition of martial regulation, citing threats from “North Korean puppets” and “harmful parts” at residence.
As his personal political issues deepened on account of scandals and disasterMr. Yoon has aligned himself extra brazenly with the radicalized political proper. He accused unscrupulous journalists of spreading “fake news” and referred to as his political enemies supporters of “communist totalitarianism”. He even appointed a right-wing YouTuber to go the civil servant coaching heart.
Lengthy earlier than Mr. Yoon’s declaration of martial regulation, some right-wing YouTubers had referred to as for him to take related motion to take care of his home enemies. Additionally they unfold sinophobia, implying that China is a covert manipulator of South Korea’s home politics, together with its elections. Rallies of his supporters typically ring with calls to “kick out the Chinese language”. Mr Yun has sparked fears of Chinese language spies as he defends his martial regulation place.
Mr Yoon and right-wing YouTubers have additionally argued that South Korea’s election outcomes are now not dependable. Professional-Yoon supporters typically carry indicators studying “Cease Theft,” borrowing a time period popularized by folks in the USA who falsely claimed that the 2020 presidential election poll depend. was manipulated in opposition to Mr. Trump. One in all them, Shin Yoon-joo, 52, mentioned he believed the vote fraud principle, citing YouTube as its supply.
The police and prosecutor’s workplace, in addition to the electoral authorities, have lengthy dismissed the accusation as baseless. However when Mr. Yun declared martial regulation, he additionally despatched troops into the Nationwide Election Fee to analyze allegations of vote fraud. Navy officers concerned in his martial regulation order had directions, prosecutors mentioned, to grab the fee’s laptop servers and detain senior election observers by tying them up, blindfolding them and taking them to an underground army bunker for questioning about election fraud. frauds. (Martial regulation ends earlier than computer systems are confiscated or individuals are taken away.)
Mr. Yun and his attorneys haven’t commented on particular allegations and have typically denied accusations of sedition, calling his actions a respectable train of presidential energy.
“It is clear that the president has misplaced his thoughts on bizarre conspiracy theories about vote fraud whereas watching low-quality YouTube channels,” mentioned Cho Gab-jae, a outstanding conservative journalist.
Mr Yoon’s lawyer, Yoon Kab-keun, mentioned the election-rigging allegations have been sturdy and divisive sufficient to advantage an investigation.
Google Korea mentioned it manages YouTube content material in line with its group’s tips.
Paradoxically it was also YouTube which helped the information of Mr. Yun’s declaration of martial regulation go viral on the night time of December 3, prompting residents to hurry to the Nationwide Meeting to delay the troop advance and purchase time for opposition lawmakers to vote in opposition to martial regulation state of affairs.
“It was a conflict between the completely different roles of the algorithms,” Mr Hong mentioned. “Algorithms assist data go viral, however additionally they make it easier to grow to be a slave to it.”
