Written by Hyunsoo Yim, Eduardo Baptista, and Minwoo Park
SEOUL (Reuters) – Supporters of ousted South Korean President Yoon Suk-yul have adopted “Stop the Steal” slogans promoted by supporters of US President-elect Donald Trump and said they hope the next president will help their embattled leader.
As Yoon's supporters gathered outside his residence in the pre-dawn hours on Friday in an attempt to prevent his arrest, some carried signs in English reading “Stop the Steal,” a slogan used by Trump's supporters to cast doubt on the results of the 2020 US presidential election, which he lost.
Yoon avoided arrest on Friday after presidential guards and troops obstructed efforts to execute an arrest warrant in a criminal investigation into the rebellion related to the short-lived martial law on Dec. 3.
Trump, who is scheduled to take office for a second term on January 21, has not commented on Yoon's situation and there are no clear ties between his campaign and Yoon's supporters.
But searches for the hashtag #StopTheSteal, or “election fraud” in Korean, on the social media platform
Yoon's defense of his actions was also similar to Trump's political rhetoric as he pointed out potential voting irregularities and defended the country from enemies at home and abroad.
While Yoon did not mention election issues in his initial declaration of martial law, he sent hundreds of troops to raid the National Election Commission (NEC) and later claimed that North Korea had hacked the NEC, but did not cite any evidence.
He said the National Intelligence Service discovered the attack but the committee, an independent agency, refused to fully cooperate in the investigation and inspection of its system.
He said the hack cast doubt on the integrity of the April 2024 parliamentary elections, which his party lost by a landslide, and prompted him to declare martial law.
The commission said at the time that Yoon, by raising suspicions of election irregularities, was committing “a self-defeating act against the election monitoring system that elected itself president.”
The National Election Commission said it consulted with the spy agency last year to address “security vulnerabilities” but there were no indications that a North Korean hack would compromise the electoral system, and voting is done using paper ballots.
The issue has become a major talking point for Yoon's supporters who say the martial law declaration was justified, and they now hope their concerns will resonate with Trump.
“He can really help President Yoon,” said university professor Lee Ho-chung, adding that the audience for his English-language “Stop the Steal” poster were both Americans and Koreans.
Byung-in-soo, 71, who carried the flag of the United States and South Korea with the phrase “Let's go together” written in English and Korean, said he was counting on Trump's return to rescue Yoon.
“I hope that Trump will take office soon and raise his voice against the rigged elections in our country and around the world to help President Yoon return (to power) quickly,” Byung said.
Seo Hye-kyoung who was holding a “Stop the Steal” sign with a Chinese flag claimed that “Chinese people came to our country and stole our votes.”
When asked about the National Election Commission's public denial of election fraud, Seo said she trusted Yoon. “The president is not someone who would say the wrong thing,” she added.
Hundreds of pro-Leon demonstrators surrounded the presidential complex, and some stayed out all night in sub-zero temperatures, hoping to avoid an arrest attempt.
The demonstrators chanted “false dismissal,” while some of them raised the American flag, which is often present at conservative protests in the country.
Trump was impeached twice, but was acquitted.
