Yoon’s election denialism pervades conservative base as PPP sits idly by

Over 100 people gathered in downtown Seoul, vigorously waving Korean and American flags and brandishing signs carrying messages written in bold letters: “Deniers of corrupt elections are accomplices” and “Investigate election fraud!”  

Those gathered were part of the “National Rally Calling for Investigations on Election Fraud and Manipulation for the Sake of Liberal Unification” organized by the conservative Liberty Unification Party on Tuesday. Participants accepted the election fraud allegations as proven facts and argued that President Yoon Suk-yeol’s martial law declaration was a “high-level act of state” to rectify such fraud. Their slogans were taken directly from Yoon’s speech regarding his invocation on martial law on Dec. 3. 

With Yoon implying that “election fraud” was one of the reasons he invoked military rule and the ruling party failing to definitively distance itself from such comments, some conservative groups and far-right YouTubers have begun to treat the election conspiracy theories as established fact. 

Experts are expressing concerns that the nonsensical conspiracy theories Yoon is platforming could widen the gaps in perception among the Korean public, possibly setting Korea on the road to becoming a society where dialogue and compromise are impossible, even after the impeachment proceedings. 

After the martial law fiasco, Yoon said he had “requested improvements regarding areas that had issues” at the National Election Commission ahead of the April general elections, but that it was “impossible to know whether such improvements were made.” 

Following his speech, conspiracy theories about election fraud have spread like wildfire. Far-right YouTubers and others are claiming that the military has secured the National Election Commission’s servers and is conducting analyses, spreading the claim that election fraud is an established fact. 

The statements are so baffling that after the attempted insurrection, the head of the National Election Commission publicly called such claims “a shocking perception.” 

The issues indicated by Yoon appear to be related to vulnerabilities to “virtual hacking” that were exposed during a cybersecurity inspection, when the commission volunteered information to the National Intelligence Service and an evaluation was run without the commission’s security system running. The issues that were pointed out at the time were resolved before the general election in April.

During a National Assembly interpellation session, Roh Tae-ak, the chairman of the commission, said election fraud is “systematically impossible.” 

“I find the president’s claims quite shocking,” he added. 

Not only has the president not apologized for fueling conspiracy theories, but the ruling party has shown no efforts to extinguish the blaze. 

“Even if President Yoon Suk Yeol is impeached, the National Election Commission should be investigated,” Lee Soo-jung, who heads the People Power Party member council for Suwon, wrote on a personal social media account before quickly deleting the post.  

This was the backdrop for a comment from PPP leader Han Dong-hoon when he resigned on Monday. 

“If we align with radicals like election deniers and extremist YouTubers or allow ourselves to be overrun by their commercially produced fear, then there is no future for the South Korean conservative party,” Han said at the time.  

Experts are concerned that such conspiracy theories, which the president himself has lent legitimacy to, could render rational discussion and compromise impossible and create social fissures. 

“Whether it’s the president or a politician, any conspiracy theory from a leader does more than just present a suspicion. It has the potential to enable action and violence that persecutes or oppresses someone,” said Chun Sang-chin, a professor of sociology at Sogang University.

“Healthy dialogue and compromise are fundamental to politics, but the greatest cost inflicted by conspiracy theories is rendering dialogue and compromise impossible.”

By Lim Jae-hee, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]