A disturbing trend is emerging as President Yoon Suk Yeol waits for a Constitutional Court decision following his political prosecution and judicial investigations into his rebellion costs.
In recent days, the North Korean government has been flooded with unconfirmed, half-baked tales originating generally from opposition parties. The media’s failing to conduct fundamental fact-checking has only amplified the gossips, misconceptions and speculation.
Kim Ou-joon, a well-known left-wing critic, testified at a December 13 hearing that he had learned about an “assassination crew” that supposedly mobilized during Yoon’s martial law decree, which was later revoked six hours later that month.
This idea, which Kim himself acknowledged was never fully verified, alleged that Yoon’s authorities had planned to attack some individuals, including previous ruling party chief Han Dong-hoon, and then framework North Korea for the crime.
Kim continued to make another unsupported claims, including those that US soldiers could have used chemical weapons and killed them to stoke an American attack against North Korea during the brief-lived decree. Kim’s supply for the burning claims? A welcoming country with an official in South Korea
This vague purchasing fueled warm speculation, leading some to believe that the suggestion originated from British intelligence. Weeks later, however, US State Department director Mathew Miller dismissed the idea.
Ironically, in South Korea, it was the opposition Democratic Party lawmaker who openly refuted Kim’s testimony as” considerably fictional” – although the committee that heard Kim’s testimony later published an interim report to” not rule out entirely” the claim.  ,  ,  ,  ,
Another incident occurred on December 11 when another opposition leader’s representative, Kim Joon-hyung, claimed that US Ambassador Philip Goldberg reported to Washington after being unable to achieve North Korean diplomats as a result of the declaration of martial law, claiming that he could not cope with Yoon government officials. In a unique walk, the Seoul-based US Embassy quickly refuted the assertion.
These inflammation and unproven accusations have received more advertising policy, which has heightened the alarm. Mainstream media sources on both sides of the political spectrum failed to verify the reports.
Yet ChoJoongDong—an word for Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo and DongA Ilbo, the world’s leading three liberal media outlets—fell quick in their fact-checking. They have traditionally been charged with balancing liberal media stories, but they have failed in the suddenly contentious social climate brought on by public demonstrations.
Just Chosun Ilbo, for example, wrote editorials that raised serious questions about Kim Ou-joon’s statements among the ChoJoongDong trio but never went any further.
However, the media’s fixation on contextual reviews stemming from Yoon’s continuing criminal probes has also fueled anxieties. The most popular news outlets are the reports from high-ranking military and government leaders who have been detained in connection with Yoon’s declaration of martial law.
None have so far been supported beyond the stories collected by the authorities and trial. Many stores have omitted important details, such as who made certain assertions and under what circumstances, turning the information into a mishmash of “he said, she said” allegations.
The ruling People’s Party has criticized researchers for deliberately reporting on ongoing legal investigations to the media and vowed legal actions against outlets that publish unverified claims. The political office and Yoon’s lawful team had denied all charges.
Then there are the wild duck hunts after mirage-like information. For example, a secure phone reportedly used by the leader as a line of communication during the decree—what multimedia have called smoking-gun evidence—has yet to be found.
Recently, the media has turned its attention to a rumored smoking gun, a book held by former head of defense intelligence Noh Sang-won. Noh, reportedly one of the key architects of Yoon’s December 3 martial law decree, had listed names of politicians, journalists, judges and religious figures as” subjects for roundup” and included phrases such as” shoot to kill” and “blockade National Assembly”.
The notebook reportedly includes a strategy to “incite North Korean aggression near the NLL,” the dangerous maritime boundary between the two Koreas, in addition. Noh, the previous knowledge commander-turned-shaman, has since been apprehended and handed over to prosecution.
The sudden presence of Noh and his book casts doubt, especially given the scheduling, which seems almost too easy, despite the expectation that those responsible for the investigation will work dispassionately.
After all, a memo that appears to have been written by a former military officer could suddenly support Kim Ou-joon’s assassination squad theory, supporting assertions that Yoon participated in provoking North Korean aggression and trying to neutralize parliament.
MBC and JTBC, two of South Korea’s leading broadcasters, are now actively promoting these narratives.
Moreover, if the indictment and impeachment against Yoon for inciting an insurrection fails, as is entirely possible, then Plan B may involve pursuing charges for inciting foreign aggression. It’s not unheard of for authorities to “find” evidence that fits a predetermined outcome.
Noh’s sudden emergence also neatly aligns with another dubious narrative. Hankyoreh Newspaper, for example, has suggested that Yoon’s shamanistic beliefs may have influenced his decision to declare martial law.
In a similar vein, Ohmynews published a column contending that Noh’s notebook’s contents are not entirely illogical given the “president who indulges in unfounded conspiracy theories and shamanistic beliefs.”
The joint investigative headquarters and the prosecution, who both want to control the high-profile case involving the sitting president, who has been suspended from his post-presidential duties while his Constitutional Court case is pending, are at odds with one another in the current media frenzy.
Both sides have fought back from the beginning to question well-known figures and find proof that Yoon has an insurrection connection. Additionally, it’s important to remember that former prosecutor general Yoon made his name by outlawing famous people like Cho Kuk and Park Geun-hye.
For the media and the mobilized opposition parties, gravitating toward juicy clickbait stories and engaging in speculation is not surprising. Sensationalism is not confined to South Korea.
However, the effects of misinformation or poorly sourced information are especially damaging in times of national crisis, as seen by the former President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment proceedings.
Violent rumors about Park and her allies and personal insults were widely spread during that time, even in the established media. Unsurprisingly, many of the claims originated from opposition parties.
False rumors about Park having cosmetic surgery and performing religious rituals after the 2014 Sewol Ferry sinking spread in a special way in a particularly notorious setting.
The opposition Democratic Party’s Jang Kyung Tae recently accused the first lady of visiting a plastic surgeon just before Yoon’s martial law decree, as if it had been taken directly from the same playbook.
Hasty reporting may have also influenced Park’s court ruling. In an exclusive segment aired in October 2016, JTBC showed a smoking gun demonstration of Park’s meddling in state affairs. That and JTBC’s subsequent expose became key evidence for Park’s ouster from office. In recent years, the accuracy of the broadcaster’s reports has come under heavy scrutiny.
The opposition’s careless actions run the risk of further erodering public trust in already fragile institutions as the Constitutional Court weighs Yoon’s case. At the same time, the media’s penchant for speculative reporting, coupled with a lack of rigorous fact-checking, only fuels the fire. The “innocent until proven guilty” principle will become more and more vulnerable as a result of this climate.
To be sure, press freedom and governmental inquiries must be protected and encouraged, especially in times of crisis. But without proper accountability, they risk becoming a double-edged sword—one that can uphold truth or unleash unwarranted protest and chaos.
Kenji Yoshida is a Seoul-based correspondent for JAPAN Forward. Reitaku University’s Associate Professor and historian Jason Morgan