By Ju-min Park and Tom Bateman
SEOUL (Reuters) – When South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol cited allegations of election hacking and “anti-state” pro-North Korean supporters to justify the imposition of short-lived martial legislation, the YouTuber right-winger Ko Sung-kook had heard it. Earlier than.
Actually, Ko himself had made the identical claims a number of instances to the 1.1 million subscribers of his Kosungkook TV channel on YouTube.
“If President Yoon Suk Yeol listens rigorously to the voices of YouTubers, possibly he’ll perceive what folks actually suppose, what the general public sentiment of the president’s supporters is, that is what I anticipate,” mentioned Ko to Reuters.
Yoon was impeached and faraway from workplace on Saturday in a controversial parliamentary vote on his Dec. 3 martial legislation decree, triggering a constitutional disaster and dividing Yoon’s conservative Individuals Energy Social gathering (PPP).
PPP chief Han Dong-hoon, a former confidant of Yoon who later advocated for the president’s impeachment, introduced his resignation Monday and accused South Korea’s right-wing media of making divisions between the conservatives.
“If we sympathize with extremists like conspiracy theorists and extremist YouTubers, or if we’re consumed by their commercially produced fears, there isn’t any future for conservatism,” mentioned Han, who was a standard goal of Ko’s criticism.
A columnist for the conservative-leaning newspaper JoongAng Ilbo mentioned Friday that Yoon’s “YouTube habit” had ruined his eating regimen.
“In case you are hooked on YouTube, you fall right into a world of phantasm dominated by conspiracy theories… President Yoon has watched an excessive amount of YouTube,” the column reads.
Yoon’s workplace didn’t reply to Reuters questions on his viewing habits or the sources of his claims used to justify the imposition of martial legislation.
CLAIMS OF FOREIGN INTERFERENCE
Talking in his modest workplace that doubles as a studio, Ko mentioned he did not know if Yoon watched his present, however was completely happy that YouTubers provided an alternate platform that appeared to mirror the pondering of the president.
Elected president in 2022 within the closest election in South Korea’s historical past, Yoon invited right-wing YouTube activists and commentators to his inauguration and employed a YouTuber who made allegations about Chinese language communist infiltration into home politics to run the civil servant coaching company.
In a provocative speech Thursday that hit lots of the favourite speaking factors of right-wing commentators, Yoon condemned his political opponents as obstructionist “anti-state forces” who aspect with enemies in North Korea, and mentioned that Pyongyang could have hacked the South’s elections and defended its martial legislation order as a authorized measure to guard democracy.
In South Korea, the pro-North Korea label can carry excessive stakes, given the fixed risk from ostensibly communist North Korea and Chilly Struggle-era legal guidelines that successfully prohibit actions thought of linked to communism or supporting Pyongyang.
In November, a former official of South Korea’s largest union, the Korean Confederation of Commerce Unions (KCTU), was sentenced to fifteen years in jail for being ordered by North Korea to incite protests.
One other theme, significantly because the PPP was defeated in April’s parliamentary elections, is points associated to the safety of the Nationwide Election Fee (NEC), one of many locations the place Yoon has deployed troops.
The NEC mentioned it consulted with the intelligence company final 12 months to handle “safety breaches”, however there was no indication the electoral system was compromised.
Shin Jin-wook, a sociology professor at Chung Ang College, drew parallels between Yoon and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
“When mainstream newspapers and tv stations took a essential stance towards President Trump, Trump known as them faux information or trash. Trump as an alternative singled out social media like YouTube as the great ones,” Shin mentioned.
“Faux information”
About 53% of South Koreans say they obtain information from YouTube, a median of 30% in different international locations, in line with a 2023 report from the Korea Press Basis. This represents a rise from 24% in 2016.
A 2018 survey by the Chosun Ilbo newspaper confirmed that 70% of attendees at a right-wing rally mentioned YouTube was their essential supply of stories.
Kim Sang-wook, a PPP lawmaker who supported the impeachment, mentioned right-wing YouTubers had grow to be Yoon’s public relations machine.
Ko rejected claims that Yoon and conservative YouTubers had a very symbiotic relationship, saying comparable dynamics had been additionally enjoying out on the liberal aspect of the political spectrum.
The navy’s martial legislation decree required media management and troops had been despatched to the workplaces of a left-wing YouTube media persona, who’s essential of Yoon and instructed Reuters he had gone into hiding.
As Yoon confronted impeachment final week, Ko mentioned Yoon’s martial legislation order was the final resort to control the nation and urged “patriotic right-wing fighters” to descend on the road to help him.
“An all-out battle has began between the pro-North Korea faction that wishes to take away President Yoon… and our right-wing folks,” Ko mentioned.
On Saturday, Ko attended a rally in Seoul with tens of hundreds of Yoon supporters waving South Korean and American flags, greeting followers who wished to shake palms and take images collectively.
“Dr. Ko is a superb political commentator who wakes up conservative residents and guides them in the appropriate route,” mentioned Lee Kwang-hyun, 71, a fan on the rally who denounced “faux information.”
Yoon is combating election fraud identical to Trump, Lee mentioned, including that he opposed impeachment partially as a result of it could forestall Yoon from attending Trump’s inauguration in January.
“I imagine Yoon’s ideology and spirit have utterly shifted to saving our nation,” he mentioned.
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