Case-study — Political Polarization and Fake News: A Prototypical Case from South Korea
Despite the suspension of its president in late 2024, South Korea was praised internationally for maintaining democratic stability during a constitutional crisis. Yet, beneath that institutional resilience lies a deeper concern: an electorate sharply divided by political polarization and increasingly vulnerable to fake news.
Even after former President Yun Seok-yol was impeached for serious misconduct, the political party’s presidential candidate (Kim Moon-soo), who did not condemn Yoon’s controversial declaration of martial law, received over 40% of the vote in the presidential election in June 3rd.
However, as part of his campaign after receiving support from his electorate, he apologized for the incident, indicating that he would have voted against martial law.
This level of support, despite the historical trauma associated with martial law in South Korea, is a clear indicator of the nation’s growing ideological divide.
This polarization has eroded public reason to the point where many people believe the most implausible claims — if they align with their political loyalties. In today’s South Korea, the societal climate is such that a lie as absurd as “there is a rabbit on the Moon” could be accepted as truth by some.
The recent impeachment trial brought this phenomenon into sharp focus. During the proceedings, organized disinformation campaigns emerged, led by a man named Ahn — an infamous fake news producer. Ahn falsely claimed to have worked as a covert U.S. agent, despite having no links to the United States. One of his most damaging fabrications alleged that 99 Chinese nationals, supposedly involved in manipulating the South Korean election, were deported to a U.S. military base in Okinawa.
Although both South Korea’s National Election Commission and the U.S. Eighth Army categorically denied the claim, several online media outlets circulated the story. Astonishingly, Ahn later admitted on national broadcaster station
What is more alarming is that Ahn openly shared his method for manufacturing disinformation:
1. Construct a short, strongly framed fictional narrative with a clear objective.
2. And then Insert partial facts to lend plausibility.
In his own words: “It doesn’t matter if it’s 70% fake or 30% fake. If the bluff is well-crafted, it blends in — and fake news begins to look like reality.”
The journalist who reported Ahn’s story was fully aware of its falsity but published it anyway. Audio recordings later revealed conversations between Ahn and the journalist, in which they casually referred to their work as a “novel,” emphasizing the use of factual details to legitimize fiction.
Even more disturbing, the legal team defending President Yoon cited Ahn’s fabricated claims during oral arguments at the Constitutional Court — without hesitation. Meanwhile, the media outlet that ran the fake story reportedly earned revenue from government-sponsored advertising.
This case reveals how a simple formula for disinformation — clever framing, partial truths, and a receptive audience — can have real political impact. As long as there are people who want to believe a lie, no matter how irrational, fake news will survive.
Fake news producers understand this dynamic well. And the 2025 presidential election only reinforced it. President-elect Lee Jae-myung won with 49.42% of the vote, while his opponent Kim Moon-soo — who supported Yoon’s martial law — garnered 41.15%.
Imagine France where 40% of the population thinks Nazi collaborators were right. Imagine America where 40% of the population thinks it’s right to pay taxes to Britain. Imagine China where 40% of the population thinks the human experiments of the Japanese Imperial Army’s Unit 731 contributed to the development of human biology.
Perhaps, South Korea is already a country where imagination has become a fact. As long as 40% of the electorate remains unshaken in its support — even for authoritarian measures like martial law — the proliferation of fake news in South Korea may truly be a never-ending story.
The material reflects the author’s personal position, which may not coincide with the opinion of the editorial board.