Top South Korean judge faces disinformation deluge as Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment looms

SEOUL - Bogus child pornography claims, fabricated support for communism and fake posts showing Mr Elon Musk calling for his removal – a deluge of disinformation is targeting a top judge in suspended South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial.

South Korea’s Constitutional Court has for weeks deliberated on whether to uphold a parliamentary vote to remove Mr Yoon from office over his

failed December bid to impose martial law

in the country.

Leading the often-tense proceedings has been Mr Moon Hyung-bae, the court’s soft-spoken, liberal-leaning interim head, appointed to the bench in 2019 by then President Moon Jae-in.

With legal experts widely expecting the court to remove Mr Yoon from office in March, his conservative party and allies have launched a deluge of false and defamatory claims against Judge Moon.

“The purpose of such attacks is very clear – they are attempts to undercut the legitimacy of the impeachment decision,” said Professor Lee Jong-soo, an expert from Seoul’s Yonsei University, who said the impeachment was an “inevitability”.

Among the most damaging disinformation were claims, debunked by AFP, of Mr Moon’s involvement in sharing child pornography online.

Internet users shared what appeared to be a comment left by Mr Moon on a post containing a sexually graphic image depicting a minor.

Mr Yoon’s ruling People Power Party (PPP) amplified the false claim, demanding the judge’s resignation and condemning him for “consuming” pornography.

The party was later forced to retract its allegation and apologise – but only after it was revealed that the post was created by attaching a graphic image to an unrelated comment posted by Mr Moon to a forum for high school classmates.

That has not stopped Mr Yoon’s supporters from holding signs saying “Porn judge Moon Hyung-bae” outside the President’s impeachment hearings.

The fabricated post bred even more disinformation – AFP also debunked a fake news report purportedly showing opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung brushing off the porn allegations as “a sign he is healthy”.

The broadcaster to which the report was attributed told AFP it was “typical fake news”, adding that it was considering legal action against its propagators.

‘Communist’ claims

Those claims, while the most extreme, are far from being the only false reports circulating about Mr Moon and his fellow liberal judges.

Users have also shared images showing Mr Moon delivering a speech in front of a Chinese flag – ostensibly proof of his allegiance to “communist” Beijing, which some Yoon supporters claim has meddled in South Korean elections.

However, the image was doctored. AFP found the flag had been altered from a South Korean one.

Others have shared a post by billionaire Musk on his social media platform X condemning a “corrupt judge protecting corruption”, falsely alleging that it referred to Mr Moon.

And Mr Kwon Seong-dong – one of the ruling party’s most senior officials – spread false claims alleging close ties between Mr Moon and the opposition leader, even alleging that the judge had attended the funeral of Lee’s mother.

When the court denied this claim, Mr Kwon did not apologise, instead responding that he “must have heard wrong”.

With the impeachment decision looming and many legal experts expecting Mr Yoon to be formally removed from office, analysts say the goal of the disinformation is to undermine South Korea’s institutions.

Pulled to the right

Dr Bai Byoung-inn, a politics professor at Kookmin University, linked the campaign against the liberal judges to the possible upcoming elections, which must take place 60 days after Mr Yoon is formally removed from office.

“In a way, the PPP’s goal is to wage a war of opinions so as to delay the trial as long as possible,” Dr Bai said.

But he said “these attacks seem to have gotten out of hand” because of the increased extremism of Mr Yoon’s supporters.

“The result is that the country’s ruling party has been pulled violently to the right, unable to distance themselves from Yoon’s unconstitutional actions,” Dr Bai told AFP.

Judge Moon has not taken legal action against those spreading disinformation about him, even though libel can be a criminal offence under South Korea’s defamation laws.

The court has also declined to comment on most of the individual claims but has firmly rejected accusations that its justices’ personal leanings will influence the verdict.

“This judgment is made by objectively applying the Constitution and laws, not through the individual tendencies of the justices,” a court spokesperson said in January.

“Some politicians and media are distorting the nature of the impeachment trial, and we express concern about how this may damage the judiciary’s authority.” AFP