SEOUL, South Korea — In some ways it is a familiar scene: American flags, “Stop the Steal” posters and the occasional hat declaring “Make America Great Again.”
It isn’t a Donald Trump rally, however, but a protest by conservative supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who could become the East Asian democracy’s first sitting president to be arrested after he plunged it into political instability last month with his botched attempt to declare martial law.
Though opinion polls suggest the majority of South Koreans support removing Yoon from office, his impeachment and potential arrest have brought backlash from members of his base, some of whom have amplified claims of election fraud and other conspiracy theories promoted by right-wing YouTubers.
Many of Yoon’s supporters wave American flags to express support for the longtime South Korean alliance with the United States, whose backing they see as crucial for protecting South Korean democracy in a hostile neighborhood.
They have also adopted some of the symbols and slogans associated with President-elect Trump, whom they see as a political kindred spirit to Yoon and one who is similarly persecuted.
“South Koreans, particularly conservatives, see parallels between Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan and their own aspirations for a ‘Great Korea,’” Choi Jin Nyoung, a commentator and lawyer in Seoul, told NBC News on Monday.
“They view Trump’s agenda as aligning with their desire to restore national pride and progress, especially after what they perceive as political and diplomatic setbacks during previous administrations.”
Yoon supporters cheered on Friday when officials failed to execute an arrest warrant for Yoon at his official residence in central Seoul after an hourslong standoff with his security service. Thousands of pro-Yoon protesters had gathered outside the residence in recent days to “protect” him from being arrested.
Many of them dismissed the investigations against Yoon as politically motivated, echoing accusations by Trump supporters.
“These actions were carried out as an overreach from the start, and the investigations were initiated unlawfully,” Gang Sung-min, a pro-Yoon protester, said Friday. “So I believe that the people can step in to block such illegal acts.”
Investigators are seeking to question Yoon on possible rebellion charges in connection with his Dec. 3 martial law order, which he lifted hours later after lawmakers voted unanimously to reject it.
Warrants issued last week to detain Yoon and search his residence were set to expire at midnight local time, and the anti-corruption agency leading the joint investigation was said to be seeking an extension.
Yoon, who narrowly won election to a single five-year term in 2022, has struggled to advance his legislative agenda against the opposition-controlled parliament. In a surprise late-night address last month, he said martial law was necessary to combat “anti-state” forces he accused of paralyzing the government and sympathizing with communist North Korea, with which the South technically remains at war.
He has also said the April parliamentary election, which the main opposition Democratic Party won in a landslide, was fraudulent, a claim for which there is no evidence. During his martial law declaration, Yoon sent troops to the National Election Commission headquarters to investigate his allegations, though the order was lifted before they were able to seize any computer equipment or personnel.
Though Yoon provided no evidence for his accusations, they resonated with his supporters, many of whom are older, Christian conservatives whose families fled what is now North Korea decades ago and who support Yoon’s hard line on the nuclear-armed state. They are also deeply suspicious of communist-ruled China, and see both Yoon and Trump as tough on Beijing.
The liberal Democratic Party, which controls the legislature and could win back the presidency if a new election is held, is perceived as more open to engagement with both China and North Korea.
“If impeachment proceeds and the current administration collapses, many conservatives fear that this could lead to not just a change in leadership but a national crisis,” Chung Hyuk Jin, a moderate commentator, told NBC News by phone on Monday.
Yoon supporters have accused China without evidence of driving the anti-Yoon protests. They have also embraced Yoon’s false claims of election fraud as well as Trump’s.
“South Korea, like the United States, is being destroyed by electoral fraud. It is collapsing,” said Ahn Jae-eun, 63, whose parents fled to South Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War.
Ahn said Yoon had declared martial law “in his efforts to uncover the truth about this electoral fraud,” and that his impeachment was illegal and South Korean media was spreading “fake news.”
“When our President Trump takes office on January 20, together with President Yoon Suk Yeol, the truth about these electoral frauds will be fully uncovered,” she said.
Even Yoon’s own lawyers have referred to Trump in their legal filings, citing last summer’s Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity to argue that Yoon was exercising his executive authority and that there was no violation of fundamental rights during the short-lived martial law order.
“The repeal request was made, the president accepted it, and the troops were immediately withdrawn, right? So there was no specific harm or damage done,” one of Yoon’s lawyers, Bae Bo-yoon, said Friday.
Stella Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea, and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.