By The Straits Times | Created at 2025-01-19 06:37:19 | Updated at 2025-01-19 10:16:22
4 hours ago
SEOUL - A South Korean rock singer with 150,000 followers live-steamed himself breaking into a court building on Jan 19, alongside hundreds of other furious supporters of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The court had issued a formal arrest warrant for Mr Yoon, whose Dec 3 declaration of martial law touched off a political crisis in South Korea. For many of his supporters like Choi Jin-ho – YouTube handle RockTV – it was the final straw.
Reuters reported that Mr Yoon’s lawyer said his client was shocked and frustrated by the violent incident at the Seoul Western District Court and called for people to express their opinions in a peaceful way while asking police to show tolerance.
Choi’s seven-hour livestream includes scenes of chaos, as hundreds of Yoon supporters smash their way into the Seoul Western District Court, using fire extinguishers to break doors and smashing windows, and pouring up the stairs of the building.
“Why isn’t everyone up here? Come up here everyone” a protester is heard yelling in the stream, which remains available on his YouTube channel.
Mr Yoon is the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested, on charges of insurrection over his bid to suspend civilian rule which saw him impeached.
But the president, who is suspended from office pending a final Constitutional Court ruling on his impeachment but remains technically head of state, has refused to back down.
He had vowed to “fight to the end” and, even from his detention centre, has been regularly sending letters of thanks and encouragement to his hardcore supporters, which include far right YouTube personalities and Evangelical preachers.
Blame court, police?
Police have said they are investigating the involvement of right-wing YouTubers in the court break in, vowing justice over the illegal invasion.
But demonstrators at the scene interviewed by AFP were unrepentant.
Mr Yoon’s detention “means the collapse of South Korea’s rule of law,” said Cho Min-shik, a 32-year-old construction worker, justifying his decision to break into the court, alongside hundreds of other protesters.
Mr Yoon’s legal team has repeatedly claimed the president’s arrest was illegal, despite multiple court rulings upholding both the warrant and its execution.
Mr Cho’s hand was covered in blood after he smashed his way into the court, but he showed his injury to AFP like a badge of honour, saying he was not ashamed of his actions.
“All legal procedures against Yoon have been illegal... As President Yoon has said, Korea’s legal system has collapsed,” he added, without giving any evidence.
Police deployed 1,400 officers to quell the unrest at the court, which experts said was “unprecedented” in South Korean history.
Mr Yoon’s legal team issued a statement which effectively blamed the court and police for the incident.
The court’s decision to extend Yoon’s detention meant “enraged citizens continued their protests, resulting in unfortunate incidents of violence,” his legal team said.
“Accusations are mounting that the police, who were lenient toward illegal protests by labour unions, are now provoking and violently suppressing peaceful protests by citizens,” it added.
Understandable
Many Yoon supporters interviewed by AFP repeated conspiracy theories claiming South Korea’s parliamentary elections last year, won by an opposition landslide, had been rigged – an idea even Mr Yoon himself has endorsed.
Yoon supporters frequently wave American flags and have adopted the “Stop the steal” rhetoric associated with US president-elect Donald Trump, whose supporters stormed Washington’s Capitol to try to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
The rhetoric reflects misinformation about electoral fraud that has long circulated among far-right conspiracy theorists in South Korea.
Fuelled by nationalist sentiment and strident anti-communism, their vitriol is often directed at liberal politicians, whom they accuse of being North Korean agents conspiring with Pyongyang to destabilise South Korean democracy.
“Yoon did nothing wrong! What sin has he committed?“ said Lim Sarah, a 50-year-old protester as she livestreamed the standoff with police on her YouTube channel alongside her husband.
“Yoon needs to return to power to get rid of all the communists in the country,” said Lim, who has 5,000 followers on her YouTube channel and described herself as an Evangelical Christian.
“Evidence is overflowing,” about election fraud, her husband added.
Mr Yoon even sent troops to the National Election Commission on the night of his brief martial law declaration, seemingly to look for evidence of fraud.
“While it is alarming that conspiracy theories about rigged election are being shared by individuals, a more serious issue lies in how mainstream MPs have exploited these claims for their political gain,” Bae Kang-hoon, co-founder of political think tank Valid.
“It only shows their intent to capitalise on such rhetoric for political advantage, prompting it to spread like wildfire from what was once a fringe narrative.” AFP, REUTERS
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