Every dayтАЛ for the past week, Kim Kwon-seop, 72, has joined thousands of others gathered near the home of South KoreaтАЩs impeached president, Yoon Suk YeolтАЛ. They were determined to shield Yoon from prosecutors who wanted to detain him on insurrection charges stemming from his short-lived declaration of martial law last month.
To them, it was the opposition that had committed insurrection, abusing its majority power at the National AssemblyтАЛ to repeatedly block YoonтАЛтАЩs political initiatives. To them, the oppositionтАЩs parliamentary majority тАЛwas invalid because the election last April was rigged. And to them, protecting Yoon was synonymous with protecting South Korea from “North Korea followersтАЭ who have taken root in every corner of their society, from the judiciary to schools to the news media.
тАЛSouth Koreans commonly dismiss such conspiracy theories as little more than online demagoguery spread by right-wing YouTubers with the help of social media algorithms. But amid the countryтАЩs entrenched political polarization, they have fueled the turmoil over YoonтАЩs situation, driving zealous believers like Kim to take to the streets in large numbers, calling for the presidentтАЩs return to office.
