S Korea's impeached president fans communist fears and conspiracies

On a frigid winter afternoon, Shin Jeong-min (transliterated), a young pharmacy student, waited anxiously outside the Constitutional Court of Korea as the suspended president arrived to make a final effort to overturn his impeachment. Hundreds of the president's supporters gathered at the scene, expressing anger and concern over his suspension, and they had rallied around him ever since his failed attempt to implement martial law.

As President Yoon Suk-yeol (transliterated) appeared to testify, Shin Jeong-min joined hundreds of supporters in chanting slogans. "Release him immediately! Cancel the impeachment!" they shouted loudly. Shin Jeong-min also cited a theory popular among the president's fervent supporters, claiming that "if the president is impeached and the opposition leader is elected, our country will unite with North Korea and Kim Jong-un," implying that the left-leaning opposition party was trying to unify with the North and turn South Korea into a communist state.

Shin Jeong-min, 22, stood out among the older South Korean population who have always harbored fear and contempt for North Korea. This generation of Koreans, now in their sixties or seventies, experienced the Cold War and vividly remembers the disastrous consequences of the North Korean invasion in the 1950s. When the president declared martial law in early December, he exploited these fears to justify his power grab.

The president claimed, without providing any evidence, that "North Korean communist forces" had infiltrated the opposition party and were attempting to subvert the country. He stated that these forces needed to be "eradicated" and swiftly took action, banning political activities and placing the military under his control. Two months after the failed coup, an anti-communist fervor was spreading among the president's supporters, both young and old.

Even some who had never given much thought to North Korea or communism were now convinced that South Korea's vibrant democracy was on the verge of transforming into a left-wing dictatorship, and that their leader had no choice but to deprive the people of their democratic rights to protect them from the threats of Pyongyang and Beijing. "This is a war between communism and democracy," said a man in his 40s, who had slipped out of work to attend the protest at the court. Another man in his 30s firmly believed that the president must be reinstated as soon as possible. "He will arrest all the North Korean spies," he said.

This threat was once very real. In the 1960s and 1970s, spies frequently attempted to infiltrate the government. In 1968, a group of North Korean commandos crossed the border in an attempt to assassinate then-President Park Chung-hee. A tree on the summit of Mount Bukak in Seoul still bears the bullet marks from the nearly two weeks of intense fighting. In the 1980s, during the final years of South Korea's violent military dictatorship, a radical far-left student movement began to praise Pyongyang's "superior" political system, and they were labeled as "sympathizers" of the regime.

Dictatorial leaders also frequently accused their political opponents of being North Korean conspirators. "Anti-communism became the dominant ideology of South Korea's military dictators, who used it to control society and justify restricting people's freedoms," said Shin Jin-wook (transliterated), a sociology professor at Chung-Ang University. Today, these threats have dissipated. Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and advanced cyber hacking capabilities pose a greater risk, and it is difficult to find anyone in South Korea who wants to emulate life in the North. The left and right merely disagree on how to deal with this troublesome neighbor.

The president has been accused of exploiting people's historical fears. "The president's rhetoric is almost identical to that of past dictators, and he is the first president since South Korea's democratization in 1987 to so openly exploit this anti-communist ideology," Professor Shin said. The president not only accused the parliament, led by the opposition Democratic Party, of being filled with Pyongyang sympathizers, but he also implied that North Korea, with China's help, had manipulated last year's parliamentary elections. "This is fake news fabricated by the president, aimed at demonizing the opposition and justifying his completely undemocratic actions," a Democratic Party lawmaker, Wei Cheng-Lak (transliterated), told the BBC.

"We have a long history of fighting for democracy and freedom in South Korea. We are the ones who managed to stop the president's attempt to undermine South Korean democracy," he said, referring to the opposition politicians who rushed past the military and climbed over the parliament's walls to vote against the motion during martial law. Lee Sang-shin (transliterated), a poll expert at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said that these ideas were previously peddled by extreme conservative groups. "These groups are isolated. People don't pay much attention," he explained. "But because the president is the president, his words carry weight, and many people have accepted his claims."

This was evident at a weekend rally in support of the president last month, which the president attended. Almost everyone we spoke to, who were not die-hard conspiracy theorists, said that the president had changed their minds. "At first, I didn't support the president, but the martial law order opened my eyes," said Oh Jeong-hyeok (transliterated), a 57-year-old musician who was there with his wife. "We can see that left-wing forces are deeply rooted in our society." A woman in her 40s told us that she had previously been skeptical about China manipulating the elections, but after studying the issue following martial law, she "realized it was true."

The president's supporters often point to real events—former Democratic Party President Moon Jae-in met with Kim Jong-un in an attempt to broker a peace agreement; current Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung is under investigation for allegedly helping to send millions of dollars to North Korea—and then use these as evidence of a larger conspiracy. "This far-fetched conspiracy theory of Chinese manipulation of elections is becoming increasingly accepted," said Professor Shin, the sociology professor. "One of the most basic consensuses in a democratic system is the premise of fair and free elections, and now we have people who don't trust that. This is very extreme."

As the president's unverified claims take root, his approval ratings appear to have risen. Although most South Koreans still want him permanently removed from office, that number has decreased. Through his anti-communist rhetoric, the president has also effectively tapped into people's growing distrust of China. Now, fearing North Korea means also being wary of China. At a recent weekend rally in Seoul, many supporters replaced their signature "Stop the Steal" election fraud signs with signs that read "Chinese Communist Party Get Out."

"I believe China is interfering in all of South Korea's political affairs. It's manipulating things behind the scenes," said Cho Yeon-deok (transliterated), 66, holding one of the signs. Lee, the poll expert, said, "A growing number of the public now believe that China wants to turn South Korea into some kind of vassal state." For those in their 20s and 30s who have never experienced the real dangers from North Korea, China is a more credible threat. A Pew Research Center study last year found that South Korea and Hungary were the only two countries where young people had more negative views of China than older people.

But Cho Jin-man (transliterated), a political scientist at Duksung Women's University, said that contrary to the information they are receiving, young people's fears have nothing to do with communism. Cho explained that until recently, South Koreans felt that their country was superior to China, but as Beijing has become more powerful and assertive, they have begun to see it as a threat, especially after the United States began to view it as such. Most importantly, young people have many grievances: they are struggling to find jobs or afford housing, and they feel resentful when they see their universities catering to Chinese students.

Cho believes that communism is being used as a convenient, all-encompassing scapegoat to incite fear and hatred. This message is amplified by far-right YouTube channels, especially popular among young men. "North Korea and China are my biggest concerns," said Kim Kyung-joo (transliterated), a 30-year-old IT developer who came to one of the rallies alone. He said that he used to be a leftist like his friends and was initially very critical of the president's martial law order. But after researching the issue on YouTube, he realized that martial law was "inevitable." "If I were in the president's position, I would have declared it too," he said.

Nevertheless, opposition politician Wei Cheng-Lak is not worried about his party losing support. "Even if these extreme views are spreading, they will be limited," he said. "Most people understand who we really are, and they are eager to return to normal." Lee Sang-shin, the poll expert, is less optimistic, comparing the president's supporters to "a rapidly growing cult." He said that the president's actions are "very divisive." "This will have a lasting impact on South Korean society."