According to a report from a renowned newspaper in Seoul, a Korean American in Hawaii has been orchestrating a conspiracy regarding election fraud in Korea for more than five years. The newspaper recently reported that Annie Chan, a millionaire in the US, organized the Korea Conservative Political Action Committee in 2019, which spearheaded the conspiracy that recent elections in Korea were rigged. In an interview with the paper, Chan stated that she was trying to prevent South Korea from becoming a communist nation. She opposed the declaration of the end of the Korean War which was initiated by former president Moon Jae-in around four years ago, supported the discourse on rigged elections and built a network with Trump supporters in the US and her friends in Korea.
After she established KCPAC, there emerged individuals claiming that there were frauds to steal elections. Believers of the conspiracy sharply increased after the 2020 US presidential election; President Donald Trump claimed that the election was rigged and that the Democratic Party had stolen it. Initially, a small group engaged in this theory in South Korea. The election fraud claims were dismissed as complaints from election losers. A politician lost a general election in 2020 and filed a lawsuit. The highest court in Seoul ruled that the arguments were baseless.
The conspiracy theory became a major issue in South Korea in 2024 when President Yoon Suk Yeol became captivated by the rigged election narrative. Influenced by these claims, Yoon attempted an insurrection through a declaration of martial law, arguing that he did so to warn the opposition party and investigate supposed election fraud. Though his actions ultimately led to his presidency's downfall, he still claims that he was trying to check whether there was fraud.
Now, with the revelations about Chan, we can get a picture of why such a nonsensical story expanded and caused such political turmoil. The story is shocking and uncomfortable because it constitutes interference in another nation's politics, an anti-democratic maneuver, a show of extremism, sponsorship of an insurrection and critical betrayal against the alliance.
It is a clear act of interference because the rigged election claim is one of the most divisive issues in South Korean politics, splitting conservatives and progressives. The progressive camp dismisses the claim as nonsense, while the conservative side takes it seriously enough that the sitting president is willing to jeopardize his presidency over it. Chan inserted herself into this political conflict, violating international norms that prohibited foreign interference in domestic affairs. She must understand that her actions directly attacked South Korea's sovereignty.
This kind of political meddling by an overseas individual is reckless and dangerous to democracy. The election is the backbone of democracy because election results distribute political power. If many people doubt the integrity of the elections, how can they respect the political legitimacy of high-ranking officials, including national representatives? The dissemination of election fraud itself is one of the most potent weapons that can weaken the solidity of democracy. The US, together with South Korea, is the leader of the democratic nations in the world, and it is unbelievable that an American is attacking the democracy of Korea.
The conspiracy theory is critically dangerous because it is building up the extremists who are the enemies of all. Hundreds of supporters of President Yoon finally raised a riot on Jan. 19. They rushed into a Western Seoul District Court at around 3 a.m. to protest against the issuing of an official detention warrant for Yoon and demolished the offices, beating members of the riot police unit. It was an extremist act that South Koreans had not experienced for decades. They believed the court issued the warrant because the judges were leftists, and leftists were responsible for election fraud and the arrest of the suspended president. Once again, the claims of election fraud were concluded as a baseless argument, and about a hundred young people were lined up for prison time for nonsensical reasons.
The allegations of fraudulent election conspiracy led to constitutional disorder. By declaring illegal martial law, Yoon attempted to suspend the functions of the National Assembly and take control of the National Election Commission. The attempt to paralyze the Assembly might have been intended to retaliate against the majority-seated opposition party. The NEC's takeover order may have been to secure evidence of fraudulent elections. However, his obsession with rigged elections led to the first arrest of an incumbent president in Korean history.
It is an extremely serious crime in that it betrayed the Korea-US alliance by supporting the conspiracy theory behind the scenes by a Korean American. The Korea-US alliance has been the most successful alliance in the world since the treaty was signed in 1954, and it has helped Korea develop its country and establish the US status as a hegemonic power. As allies, it is natural that both nations should make active efforts with integrity to help each other develop their countries. Nevertheless, President Yoon has aggravated inter-Korean and Korea-China relations by adopting overly hostile policies toward North Korea and China due to unfounded conspiracy theories. It is embarrassing to see the alliance push Korea to the brink.
Though a Korean American lady disseminated the groundless conspiracy into Korea, Koreans are not exempted from the responsibility for it because lots of Koreans bought the nonsensical idea. Seoul should bear half the responsibility for attacking the national order system, dividing national opinion, undermining democracy and putting the Korea-US alliance at risk by indulging in groundless conspiracy theories by playing into foreigners' hands. Overall, Korea needs to raise its level of intelligence on diplomatic and security issues and the political situation from the level of small and weak countries to that of advanced countries.
Wang Son-taek
Wang Son-taek is an adjunct professor at Sogang University. He is a former diplomatic correspondent at YTN and a former research associate at Yeosijae. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. -- Ed.
