Images of S.Korea police misrepresented as ‘Chinese spies’ during rally for indicted president

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, the country’s first sitting head of state to face a criminal trial, defended his failed martial law bid by citing communist threats. His assertion fuelled anti-Chinese misinformation on social media including posts that claimed to show pictures of Chinese undercover agents — holding flags that bore the letters “CN” — allegedly infiltrating a pro-Yoon rally. The flags actually bore the initials for South Korea’s South Chungcheong Province — also known as Chungnam — and help police identify personnel movement in crowds.

“January 18. Seoul Western District Court. Chinese agents were deployed!” read the Korean-language text overlaid on a video posted to YouTube on January 18, 2025. “Chinese agents disguised as South Korean riot police.”

The clip, which appears to have been deleted, featured images of a large crowd where officers in neon yellow and navy South Korean police uniforms could be seen holding red, yellow and blue flags marked “CN1400-1”, “CN1400-2” and “CN1400-3”.

One image included a screenshot that purportedly showed a ChatGPT response to the query, “Which organisation’s flag is the red CN1400-1 flag?” It stated it belonged to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.

The video had garnered over 72,000 views.

Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested (archived link).

After the court extended his detention in the early hours of January 19, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building (archived link).

AFP journalists saw hundreds of police officers charged into the court building, with the force arresting dozens and denouncing an “intolerable illegal and violent incident”.

On January 26, Yoon was formally indicted on charges of leading an insurrection, and the formal indictment with detention means he will remain in custody for up to six months while standing trial.

He was earlier impeached for his short-lived martial law declaration that plunged the country into political turmoil.

Similar claims and images swirled across various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Threads and X.

Some users appeared to believe the claim.

One wrote, “There was a person in police uniform reportedly holding that flag, which looks like one from the Chinese security bureau, and pushing people. When people asked for his name and title, he couldn’t say anything.”

“Chinese security agents were real after all. This country is insane!” another said.

However, the pictures in fact show officers from South Korea’s South Chungcheong Province, also known as Chungnam.

Police flags

Kim Ki-chan, head of the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency‘s security division, told AFP on January 24 that the flags seen in the photos in false posts belong to his division, dismissing the claim as “complete nonsense” (archived link).

“It is difficult to distinguish the location of each unit in a crowd because everyone is in the same police uniform,” Kim said. “These flags signal, ‘Our unit is here and moving in this direction’.”

He explained that “CN” on the flags stands for Chungnam, “1400” refers to the 4th mobile command unit, and the final single-digit number identifies a specific sub-unit.

Kim said about 120 officers — all South Koreans — were deployed to the Seoul Western District Court on January 18.

He provided AFP with two photos showing similar flags taken during training in September 2024.

AFP separately found a news report from local media organisation DT News that included a picture showing a similar flag (archived link).

The article — published on August 27, 2024 — reported on a public hearing by the Ministry of Environment in Buyeo County, South Chungcheong Province, regarding a proposed dam construction, which faced opposition from some residents.

The photo caption read: “The police intervened to prevent physical clashes and disruptions by blocking non-local attendees from entering the event. However, after some scuffling, everyone was able to enter the venue.”

Acting National Police Agency Commissioner Lee Ho-young also refuted the claim while testifying at a January 20 parliamentary session on the unprecedented court storming that took place the day before, adding that the police deployment over the weekend did not involve any collaboration with the Chinese police (archived link).

AFP has previously debunked anti-Chinese misinformation related to the declaration of martial law in South Korea.