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The Star
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Police seek journalist arrest over martial law ‘fake report'
POLICE here said they have requested an arrest warrant for a journalist over a false report related to former president Yoon Suk-yeol's brief imposition of martial law. A reporter for local news outlet Sky eDaily wrote in January in a purportedly 'exclusive' report that 99 Chinese spies had been arrested by South Korean troops on the day Yoon suspended civilian rule in December. Citing unnamed US military intelligence sources, the report claimed the spies were transferred to US military custody in Japan's Okinawa, after being arrested at a facility affiliated with South Korea's National Election Commission (NEC). The Seoul Metropolitan Police said that it has filed an arrest warrant request for the reporter, on charges of 'obstruction of official duties' of the NEC. The journalist, who has not been named by the police, is accused of publishing a 'false article that disrupted' the NEC's operations, its spokesperson added, saying they expect to receive the court's decision later today. AFP digital verification reporters have previously debunked the journalist's report and related content. Both the NEC and the US Forces Korea had refuted the 'Chinese spy' report when approached by AFP's Fact Check. Yoon's martial law declaration – which he claimed was necessary to break legislative gridlock and 'root out' pro-North Korean 'anti-state' forces – garnered support from extreme religious figures and right-wing YouTubers. It has also fuelled a surge in misinformation and conspiracy theories online, with unverified content spreading unproven claims of electoral fraud and Chinese espionage. Pro-Yoon rallies turned violent in January when extremist supporters stormed a Seoul courthouse. At least four of them were handed jail terms, with their charges including vandalising the property and physically attacking members of the press and police officers. — AFP
The Star
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
S. Korea police seek journalist arrest over martial law 'fake report'
Former South Korea president Yoon Suk-yeol's martial law declaration had fuelled a surge in misinformation and conspiracy theories online. - AFP SEOUL: South Korean police said Tuesday (May 20) they have requested an arrest warrant for a journalist over a false report related to former president Yoon Suk-yeol's brief imposition of martial law. A reporter for local news outlet Sky eDaily wrote in January in a purportedly "exclusive" report that 99 Chinese spies had been arrested by South Korean troops on the day Yoon suspended civilian rule in December. Citing unnamed US military intelligence sources, the report claimed the spies were transferred to US military custody in Japan's Okinawa, after being arrested at a facility affiliated with South Korea's National Election Commission (NEC). The Seoul Metropolitan Police told AFP that it has filed an arrest warrant request for the reporter, on charges of "obstruction of official duties" of the NEC. The journalist, who has not been named by the police, is accused of publishing a "false article that disrupted" the NEC's operations, its spokesperson added, saying they expect to receive the court's decision on Wednesday. AFP digital verification reporters have previously debunked the journalist's report and related content. Both the NEC and the US Forces Korea had refuted the "Chinese spy" report when approached by AFP's Fact Check. Yoon's martial law declaration -- which he claimed was necessary to break legislative gridlock and "root out" pro-North Korean "anti-state" forces -- garnered support from extreme religious figures and right-wing YouTubers. It has also fuelled a surge in misinformation and conspiracy theories online, with unverified content spreading unproven claims of electoral fraud and Chinese espionage. Pro-Yoon rallies turned violent in January when extremist supporters stormed a Seoul courthouse. At least four of them were handed jail terms, with their charges including vandalising the property and physically attacking members of the press and police officers. - AFP
Straits Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
South Korea police seek journalist arrest over martial law 'fake report'
Former South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration had fuelled a surge in misinformation and conspiracy theories online. PHOTO: AFP Seoul - South Korean police said on May 20 they have requested an arrest warrant for a journalist over a false report related to former president Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law. A reporter for local news outlet Sky eDaily wrote in January in a purportedly 'exclusive' report that 99 Chinese spies had been arrested by South Korean troops on the day Yoon suspended civilian rule in December. Citing unnamed US military intelligence sources, the report claimed the spies were transferred to US military custody in Japan's Okinawa, after being arrested at a facility affiliated with South Korea's National Election Commission (NEC). The Seoul Metropolitan Police told AFP that it has filed an arrest warrant request for the reporter, on charges of 'obstruction of official duties' of the NEC. The journalist, who has not been named by the police, is accused of publishing a 'false article that disrupted' the NEC's operations, its spokesperson added, saying they expect to receive the court's decision on May 21. AFP digital verification reporters have previously debunked the journalist's report and related content. Both the NEC and the US Forces Korea had refuted the 'Chinese spy' report when approached by AFP's Fact Check. Yoon's martial law declaration – which he claimed was necessary to break legislative gridlock and 'root out' pro-North Korean 'anti-state' forces – garnered support from extreme religious figures and right-wing YouTubers. It has also fuelled a surge in misinformation and conspiracy theories online, with unverified content spreading unproven claims of electoral fraud and Chinese espionage. Pro-Yoon rallies turned violent in January when extremist supporters stormed a Seoul courthouse. At least four of them were handed jail terms, with their charges including vandalising the property and physically attacking members of the press and police officers. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Photo of US navy vessel falsely linked to unsubstantiated claims of 'Chinese spy arrests' in South Korea
The false claim, presented as part of a purported open-source investigation, was shared on YouTube on January 16, 2025. The right-wing YouTuber, Shin In-gyun, told his 1.5 million subscribers there was news circulating online that 99 Chinese spies had been arrested during the six hours of martial law, declared by President Yoon Suk Yeol on December 3, 2024. The report, by Sky eDaily, said the purported spies were arrested at a facility affiliated with the National Election Commission (NEC) in the city of Suwon. It said they were transported by the US military to a base in Okinawa, Japan, where they confessed to election interference. "It is claimed that the detainees were transported on this ship," Shin said, as he pointed to a photo of a vessel. "Indeed, on that day, after 7:00 pm, the US navy vessel Guam entered Naha Port. This is a photo taken at that moment." "A local resident of Naha took this photo. This resident photographs military vessels entering the port during morning and evening walks every day and shares them on his blog," he added. In a televised address to the nation on December 12, 2024 Yoon defended his abortive martial law bid by alluding to the unverified claims -- which have long swirled among far-right conspiracy theorists -- that South Korea's voting system had been infiltrated by state-sponsored hackers from communist forces (archived link). "How can the public trust election results when the computer system that manages elections, the core of democracy, is so sloppy?" Yoon said, claiming the NEC had suffered "a hacking attack by North Korea" the previous year. Yoon has also accused unidentified Chinese individuals of flying a drone to photograph a US aircraft carrier docked in Busan, as well as Seoul's spy agency building, among other claims. His rhetoric has emboldened far-right supporters, triggering a fresh wave of misinformation targeting the commission and fuelling anti-Chinese sentiment. Yoon was later impeached, arrested and indicted on charges of leading an insurrection over his attempt to suspend civilian rule (archived link). Similar claims the photo shown by the YouTuber shows a US vessel that transported detained Chinese spies were also shared on Facebook, Threads, Ilbe and Daum Cafe. Commenters appeared to buy into the false claim, with one writing: "Circumstantial evidence regarding the arrest of Chinese nationals, reported by Sky eDaily, has been revealed. Here we go, it's starting to emerge one by one!" The report cited in the false post has since been refuted by both the NEC and US Forces Korea. An NEC spokesperson told AFP on January 17 that the arrest operation rumour is "completely not true", as no Chinese nationals were present at the training centre when Yoon declared martial law. The commission also rejected the false claim in a statement released on the same day (archived link). US Forces Korea also told AFP on January 20, 2025 that the allegations in the report are "entirely false". They added in an X post on the following day that no one from the US Forces Korea, US Forces Japan, the Defense Intelligence Agency or the Department of Defense participated in any such actions (archived link). A reverse image search on Google of the photo of the US navy vessel shown in the false posts led to the same picture published in a Japanese blog post from January 5, 2025 (archived link). It said the photo shows the US naval ship Guam, a high-speed transport ship, and was taken on January 4, 2025 at the Naha military port in Okinawa. Hideo Yamamoto, who runs the blog, provided the original photo to AFP and its metadata shows it was taken at 7:14 am on January 4, 2025 -- not shortly after 7:00 pm on December 4, 2024 as claimed in the false posts. He told AFP on January 29 that the claim circulating online is "false". "I was somewhat surprised to see the Guam docked and took photos for a very brief moment," the 73-year-old photographer said. "The photo was taken from the opposite shore of Naha military port at the mouth of the Kokuba River" (archived link). He said he does not know whether the Guam was docked at Naha on December 4, 2024, as he was not visiting the city at the time. He explained he lives in Nago, about an hour and a half drive away. AFP has previously debunked other false claims fuelling anti-Chinese sentiment in the wake of Yoon's botched martial law bid here, here and here.
