By Joo-Min Park and Tom Bateman
SEOUL (Reuters) – When South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol cited claims of election hacking and “anti-state” North Korean sympathizers as justification for briefly imposing martial law, right-wing YouTuber Ko Sung- Cook had heard it. Next
In fact, Ko made the same claims several times to the 1.1 million subscribers of his Kosungkook TV channel on YouTube.
Ko told Reuters, “If President Yoon Suk Yeol listens carefully to the voices of YouTubers, he can understand what people really think, what is the public sentiment of the president’s supporters, that’s what I hope.” Ko told Reuters.
Yun was impeached and removed from office on Saturday in a controversial parliamentary vote over his Dec. 3 martial law decree, sparking a constitutional crisis and splitting Yun’s own conservative People Power Party (PPP).
PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, a former confidant of Yoon who went on to advocate for the president’s impeachment, announced his resignation on Monday and blamed South Korea’s right-wing media for creating divisions among conservatives.
“If we sympathize with extremists like conspiracy theorists and extreme YouTubers, or if we are consumed by their commercially generated fears, conservatism has no future,” said Han, who had a common target of criticism.
A columnist for the conservative-leaning Jongeung Ilbo newspaper said on Friday that Yun’s “YouTube addiction” had ruined his rule.
“If you’re addicted to YouTube, you fall into a delusional world dominated by conspiracy theories…President Yun watched a lot of YouTube,” Kallam said.
Yun’s office did not respond to questions from Reuters about his viewing habits or the sources of the claims used to justify the imposition of martial law.
Claims of foreign interference
Speaking in his modest office that doubles as a studio, Ko said he doesn’t know if Yun watches his show but is glad YouTubers provide an alternative platform that reflects the president’s thinking.
Elected president in 2022 in the narrowest election in South Korean history, Yoon invited right-wing YouTube activists and commentators to his inauguration, and appointed a YouTuber who dabbled in domestic politics to head the Public Servant Training Agency. Promoted claims of Chinese Communist infiltration.
In a defiant speech Thursday that hit many of the favorite talking points of right-wing commentators, Yun denounced his political opponents as “anti-state forces” aligned with enemies in North Korea, saying Pyongyang had rigged the South’s elections. may have been hacked and defended his martial law order as a legal step to protect democracy.
In South Korea, being labeled pro-North Korean can carry high stakes with the ongoing threat from an apparently communist North Korea and Cold War-era laws that effectively ban activities that support communism or Pyongyang. put
In November, a former official of South Korea’s largest umbrella union, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), was sentenced to 15 years in prison for receiving orders from North Korea to incite protests.
Another theme, particularly since the PPP suffered defeat in April’s parliamentary elections, has been questions over the security of the National Election Commission (NEC), a place where Yun deployed troops.
The NEC said it had consulted the spy agency last year to address “security vulnerabilities” but found no signs the electoral system had been compromised.
Shin Jin-wook, a sociology professor at Chung Ang University, draws parallels between Yun and US President-elect Donald Trump.
“When traditional newspapers and television networks took a critical stance on President Trump, Trump dismissed them as fake news or trash. Trump instead blamed social media like YouTube,” Shin said.
‘fake news’
According to a 2023 report by the Korea Press Foundation, about 53% of South Koreans say they get news on YouTube, higher than the 30% average in other countries. This was 24% higher than in 2016.
A 2018 survey by the Chosun Ilbo newspaper showed that 70% of right-wing rally participants said YouTube was their main news source.
Kim Sang-wook, a PPP lawmaker who supported the impeachment, said right-wing YouTubers had turned into Yoon’s PR machine.
Ko rejected claims that Yun and conservative YouTubers had a particularly symbiotic relationship, saying that a similar dynamic is seen on the liberal side of the political spectrum.
The military decreed martial law to control the media, and troops were sent to the offices of a prominent left-wing YouTube media personality who criticizes Yun and told Reuters he is in hiding.
As Yun faced impeachment last week, Ko said Yun’s martial law order was a last resort to run the country and urged “patriotic right-wing fighters” to take to the streets in support.
“An all-out war has begun between the pro-North Korean faction that wants to impeach President Yoon … and us right-wing people,” Ko said.
On Saturday, Ko joined thousands of Yoon supporters in Seoul waving South Korean and US flags, greeting fans who wanted to shake hands and take pictures together.
“Dr. Ko is a great political commentator who enlightens conservative citizens and guides them in the right direction,” said Lee Kwang-hyun, 71, a fan at the rally who denounced “fake news.” .
Yun is fighting the same election fraud as Trump, Lee said, adding that he opposed impeachment in part because it would prevent Yun from attending Trump’s inauguration in January.
“I believe that Yun’s ideology and spirit has completely turned to saving our country,” he said.
