January 21, 2025
SEOUL – The United States Forces Korea on Monday denied online media reports of 99 Chinese spies being captured by the US and South Korean military and confessing to election rigging, saying the notion is “entirely false.”
“The depiction of US forces and the allegations in the mentioned ROK media articles are entirely false. US Forces Korea remains committed to its mission of maintaining stability and security on the Korean Peninsula in accordance with the US-ROK Mutual Defense Treaty. We urge responsible reporting and fact-checking to prevent the spread of misinformation that could harm public trust,” the USFK said in a public statement, referring to South Korea’s formal name, the Republic of Korea.
Thursday’s claim by Sky Daily, a far-right platform founded in 2011, alleged that the South Korean military cooperated with the US military to take into custody 99 Chinese nationals at the National Election Commission building during the Dec. 3-4 imposition of martial law.
The reports spread quickly among supporters of President Yoon Suk Yeol, as the disgraced leader faces an impeachment trial and criminal investigation for his failed martial law bid. Yoon claimed his surprise move was to protect the nation from “anti-state forces,” mentioning Chinese spies in South Korea and election rigging.
Yoon, the first sitting president to be formally arrested and held in detention, claimed that there is “so much evidence about election rigging,” referring to parliamentary elections in April 2024 in which the ruling People Power Party were largely unsuccessful.
The election body on Friday denied the report in a public statement, as did the National Office of Investigation, the police body that is currently involved in the joint probe into Yoon.
A series of fake news related to the NEC has been published by news platforms with relatively low credibility in the aftermath of Yoon’s controversial martial law declaration. The fake news has included groundless claims that dozens were found to be held against their will at the election body, and that these individuals are hackers of Chinese nationality who supposedly rigged the election.