YouTube patriots? The men backing South Korea's impeached president

Fears of North Korea, online conspiracies and unproven claims of electoral fraud -- conservative South Korean men told AFP why they had descended on impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's residence to protect him from arrest.

Those rallying outside his Seoul residence have mainly been elderly, right-leaning voters -- but AFP reporters identified a growing number of younger, men in attendance.

AFP spoke to them to find out why:

- Martial law 'necessary' -

Outside Yoon's hilltop residence in the affluent Hannam-dong neighbourhood, Lee Dong-cheol, 38, told AFP he believed Yoon's declaration of martial law was justified.

The opposition Democratic Party using its majority in parliament to neuter Yoon's presidency after a landslide win in April's legislative election is one of the key reasons analysts think he made the bungled declaration.

"In a situation where the Democratic Party is abusing impeachment and monopolising the legislation, I think declaring martial law was inevitable and absolutely necessary," he said.

"I won't be able to stand the situation where the president is impeached, leading to pro-North Korea left-wing Lee Jae-myung ruining the country," he added, repeating unproven claims the country's progressive opposition was in bed with the nuclear-armed neighbour.

- Economic woes -

Yoon supporter Kim Kyung-jin, 25, came out in sub-zero conditions to rally for the suspended president because of economic considerations, including rising living costs and youth unemployment.

"I believe the conservative party is more competent on the economic front," he told AFP.

"What I really hope for is that the economy gets revived, improving the working environment and addressing issues like unemployment," he said.

- YouTube patriots -

YouTube has played a key role in energizing Yoon's base, with his more extreme supporters, including popular right-wing YouTube personalities and Evangelical pastors, livestreaming the protests online.

Yoon himself has told protesters he is watching them online, and has sent messages of support, urging them to fight.

YouTube streamers "provide more detailed information about things that the media do not show, so it feels more relatable," said Shin Jong-ho, 34.

"The press just focus on putting big, negative headlines about us," he said, claiming mainstream media did not deliver a substantive analysis of the situation.

"I think that's why people prefer to watch YouTube, because they present information more accurately. And it seems to be forging a stronger sense of unity among the conservatives."

- North Korea plot? -

Kim Seung-bin, 38, also agreed that YouTube was what pushed him to hit the streets in support of Yoon.

"A lot of individual YouTubers are doing live broadcasts, and I thought, 'I should also go out,' after watching them," he said.

For Kim, the livestreams helped him realize that the protests were "at the core, it's a battle between patriotic forces and anti-state forces," he added.

Repeating a widely debunked conspiracy theory that the opposition party was in cahoots with Pyongyang and Beijing, he said: "I think pro-China and pro-North Korea forces are controlling the country from behind."

He also repeated the impeached president's unproven claim that the election commission has refused access to inspections of its servers.

"I believe the key to healing the divisions in our society lies in uncovering whether election fraud took place," he said.

Yoon has cited purported concerns about the integrity of the country's electoral systems as a factor in his decision to declare martial law.

The election commission told AFP no evidence of fraud was found in the 2020 parliamentary election nor has any emerged after last year's parliamentary vote.

- Media distrust -

Hundreds of Yoon's supporters have rallied against his arrest, gathering near his hilltop residence in the Seoul's affluent Hannam-dong neighborhood

"The Democratic Party had basically established legislative dictatorship," he said, because of its majority in parliament.

"Despite all of this, the media has been so biased and has portrayed the president as the evil force, so I thought the people should take action, which is why I came out."

© Agence France-Presse