South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in the closing statements of his impeachment trial this week said that a Chinese-backed disinformation campaign is threatening South Korea’s democracy.
The United States has acknowledged Beijing’s global disinformation campaign amid growing concerns in Seoul and Washington about China’s alleged interference in South Korean politics and elections.
“It’s well known that the Chinese Communist Party deploys vast information manipulation campaigns around the world,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement emailed Wednesday to VOA’s Korean Service.
“Fake news, propaganda and disinformation are tools frequently employed as a part of Beijing’s diplomacy,” the statement said, using a long-standing practice of anonymity.
The comments were made in response to remarks by China’s ambassador to Seoul, Dai Bing, who criticized South Korean conservative groups for speaking out about what they view as Beijing’s interference in South Korean politics and elections.
On Tuesday, Dai told journalists gathered at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul that the groups’ “strong disruptive influence could significantly impact the development of China-South Korea relations.”
Dai continued, “We remain committed to noninterference in South Korea’s internal affairs, but we will also take appropriate measures depending on the severity of the situation.”
Anti-Chinese sentiment has been growing in South Korea, along with opposition to the impeachment of Yoon, who is now waiting for the Constitutional Court to rule on his brief martial law decree in December.
Yoon, facing separate charges for insurrection associated with his martial law decree, was impeached by the opposition-controlled National Assembly on Dec. 14, for what they saw as taking an extreme measure designed for times of war.
Alleged election interference
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in support of arguments made at weekslong court hearings by Yoon’s attorneys, who alleged that China and North Korea interfered in South Korean politics and elections to undermine national security.
The court wrapped up its impeachment hearings on Tuesday after Yoon made his final statement defending his decree.
Yoon said foreign entities have been collaborating with anti-state forces in South Korea in undermining the system of liberal democracy, threatening its national security and driving the country into a state of emergency.
“They have driven the country into the state of conflict and chaos through fake news, manipulation of public opinion and propaganda,” Yoon said.
The court’s impeachment ruling is expected in mid-March. If the court rules to impeach Yoon, an election will be held within 60 days to select a new president. The leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), Lee Jae-myung, known for his pro-China views, is considered a strong candidate.
“China has been actively interfering in South Korea’s politics for decades, and recent evidence suggests that Beijing has even been helping the South’s leftists rig elections,” said Gordon Chang, senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the author of Plan Red: China’s Project to Destroy America.
Dai’s remarks suggest that “China’s communists think no one should ever complain about their brazen meddling,” Chang told VOA on Thursday.
Chang and others raised concerns about China’s interference in South Korean politics and elections at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, held last week in Washington.
At a forum held Friday at CPAC, Fred Fleitz, vice chair of the America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Security, said, “South Korea plays a crucial role in promoting security in the Asia Pacific, and it is a key strategic ally of the United States.”
“That obviously gives strong motivations to China and North Korea to undermine South Korea, to create domestic instability, knowing that it will advance their interests and undermine American and global security,” he continued.
“So this election fraud issue is part of a much bigger security challenge,” Fleitz added.
Disinformation campaign
China has been accused of attempting to interfere in elections in other democratic countries, including the U.S. and Australia. It is also accused of operating campaigns to influence politics and alter public opinion through media in European countries, including the U.K. and Germany.
“There is certainly Chinese influence to shape [South] Korean public opinion in a direction that would favor PRC interests,” said Andrew Yeo, the SK-Korea Foundation Chair at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Asia Policy Studies, using China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.
“This includes support for South Korean candidates who might adopt a more conciliatory approach to China. But I have not seen direct evidence of how China has been directly involved in election interference. If the allegations of Chinese interference are true, those allegations would be troubling and a violation of South Korean sovereignty,” Yeo told VOA on Thursday.
Robert Rapson, who served as charge d’affaires and deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul from 2018 to 2021, said, “I don’t think there will be any concern on the part of the Trump administration about a transition to a new ROK government should the Constitutional Court uphold Mr. Yoon’s impeachment by the National Assembly.” South Korea’s official name is the Republic of Korea.
He said the U.S. “can effectively and reliably conduct our two nations’ pressing business, regardless of whether that government is led by the DP or PPP” [the ruling People’s Power Party].
Jiha Ham contributed to this report.
