SEOUL, South Korea — In a way it is a familiar scene: American flags, signs that read “Stop the Steal,” and the occasional “Make America Great Again” hat.
it is not a donald Trump’s rally, however, was not a protest by conservative supporters of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who could become the first sitting president of an East Asian democracy to be arrested after the Last month he plunged democracy into political instability with his failed attempt to declare martial law. .
Although opinion polls suggest that a majority of South Koreans support removing Yoon from office, his impeachment and possible arrest have sparked negative reactions from members of his base, some of whom have amplified accusations of electoral fraud and others. conspiracy theories promoted by right-wing YouTubers.
Many of Yoon’s supporters wave American flags to express support for South Korea’s longstanding alliance with the United States, whose support they see as crucial to protecting South Korean democracy in a hostile neighborhood.
They have also adopted some of the symbols and slogans associated with President-elect Trump, whom they see as a kindred political spirit to Yoon and someone who is equally persecuted.
“South Koreans, particularly conservatives, see parallels between Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan and their own aspirations for a ‘Greater Korea,'” Choi Jin Nyoung, a commentator and lawyer, told NBC News on Monday. in Seoul.
“They see Trump’s agenda as aligning with their desire to restore national pride and progress, especially after what they perceive as political and diplomatic setbacks during previous administrations.”
Yoon’s supporters applauded Friday when officials failed to execute an arrest warrant for Yoon at his official residence in central Seoul after an hours-long standoff with his security service. Thousands of pro-Yoon protesters had gathered in front of the residence in recent days to “protect” him from arrest.
Many of them dismissed the investigations against Yoon as politically motivated, echoing accusations from Trump supporters.
“These actions were carried out as an overreach from the beginning and the investigations were launched illegally,” Gang Sung-min, a pro-Yoon protester, said Friday. “That’s why I think people can intervene to block these illegal acts.”
Investigators are seeking to question Yoon about possible rebellion charges in connection with his Dec. 3 martial law order, which he lifted hours later after lawmakers voted unanimously to reject it.
Arrest warrants issued last week to detain Yoon and search his residence were set to expire at midnight local time, and the anti-graft agency leading the joint investigation was said to be seeking an extension.
Yoon, who narrowly won election for a single five-year term in 2022, has struggled to advance his legislative agenda in the face of the opposition-controlled parliament. In a surprise late-night speech last month, he said martial law was necessary to combat “anti-state” forces he accused of paralyzing the government and sympathizing with communist North Korea, with which the South is technically still at war.
He has also said that April’s parliamentary elections, which the main opposition party, the Democratic Party, won in a landslide, were fraudulent, a claim for which there is no evidence. During his declaration of martial law, Yoon sent troops to the headquarters of the National Election Commission to investigate his allegations, although the order was lifted before they could confiscate any computer or personal equipment.
Although Yoon did not provide evidence for his accusations, they resonated with his supporters, many of whom are older Christian conservatives whose families fled what is now North Korea decades ago and who support Yoon’s hard line against the nuclear-armed state. They also deeply distrust communist-ruled China and see both Yoon and Trump as tough on Beijing.
The liberal Democratic Party, which controls the legislature and could regain the presidency if new elections are held, is seen as more open to engaging with both China and North Korea.
“If the impeachment proceeds and the current administration collapses, many conservatives fear that this could lead not only to a change in leadership but to a national crisis,” Chung Hyuk Jin, a moderate commentator, told NBC News by phone on Monday.
Yoon’s supporters have accused China, without evidence, of fueling protests against Yoon. They have also embraced Yoon’s false claims about election fraud, as well as Trump’s.
“South Korea, like the United States, is being destroyed by election fraud. It is collapsing,” said Ahn Jae-eun, 63, whose parents fled to South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War.
Ahn said Yoon had declared martial law “in his efforts to uncover the truth about this election fraud,” and that his impeachment was illegal and that South Korean media was spreading “fake news.”
“When our President Trump takes office on January 20, along with President Yoon Suk Yeol, the truth about these election frauds will be fully revealed,” he said.
Even Yoon’s own lawyers have referred to Trump in their legal filings, citing last summer’s Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity to argue that Yoon was exercising his executive authority and that there was no violation of fundamental rights during the brief martial law order.
“The request for repeal was made, the president accepted it and the troops immediately withdrew, right? So there was no specific harm,” one of Yoon’s lawyers, Bae Bo-yoon, said Friday.
Stella Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea, and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.
