Conspiratorial documentary gets former president's seal of approval

Yoon Suk Yeol's attendance at screening shines spotlight on election fraud film
In his first postimpeachment public appearance, former President Yoon Suk Yeol attended a screening of a documentary that purports to deal with the very issue he claims led him to declare martial law on the night of Dec. 3, 2024.
On Wednesday morning, the ousted leader slipped into a screening of "Korean Election Fraud, God's Will?" — a controversial documentary that alleges widespread voter fraud in South Korea's recent elections — at a theater in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul.
Political documentaries have been stirring the pot in Korea for years, reflecting the country's increasingly polarized climate.
Both conservatives and progressives have dabbled in conspiracy theories on film. "The Plan" (2017), produced by popular progressive commentator Kim Eo-jun, previously alleged irregularities in the 2012 presidential election that brought conservative Park Geun-hye to power. But none has secured such high-profile backing from an influential political figure as the former head of state, whose devoted base of supporters remains a small but vocal faction in conservative politics.
The film's creators make for an intriguing pair.
Lee Young-don, 68, was a household name for nearly four decades, earning his stripes through hard-hitting investigative programs on KBS, SBS and Channel A. His co-producer, Jeon Han-gil, built a reputation as a charismatic history lecturer helping people prepare for civil service exams.
Since December's martial law declaration and Yoon's impeachment, the two figures have established themselves as prominent right-wing voices with close ties to Yoon, even as most ruling party politicians have kept their distance. The duo sat alongside Yoon at Wednesday's screening.
The 107-minute documentary rehashes familiar talking points that have circulated through far-right circles for years: claims about scores of fake ballots, digital systems allegedly compromised by Chinese Communist Party interference and the election commission's deliberate cover-ups — all allegations courts have repeatedly dismissed through dozens of lawsuits.
The film gives time to well-known conspiracy theorists like Min Kyung-wook, who has been pushing voter fraud claims since losing his parliamentary seat in 2020, and economist Gong Byeong-ho, who presents questionable statistical analyses to back what he sees as mathematically impossible voting patterns.
The film also features ample footage from the night of martial law, with Yoon's TV announcement and soldiers storming into parliament. At Wednesday's screening, audiences reportedly clapped during these segements and burst into laughter when co-producer Jeon called the election commission "garbage." Some shouted, "It's rigged!" or swore at the screen during clips of the Constitutional Court removing Yoon from office.
The political fallout of Yoon's morning at the movies was swift. Lee Jae-myung, the front-runner in the presidential race now less than two weeks away, pointed out the obvious irony: "Didn't he win his election using that same system? If he's calling it rigged, what does that even mean?" Yoon overcame Lee in the 2022 presidential election by a margin of about 0.7 percentage point.
Ruling party officials voiced concerns that Yoon's stunt might alienate swing voters. Han Dong-hoon, the former party leader who broke ranks to support Yoon's impeachment, said, "Spreading election fraud conspiracy theories is a surefire path to electoral defeat."
People Power Party presidential nominee Kim Moon-soo, a staunch defender of the former president who served as labor minister in his administration and was unapologetic following the martial law, was more evasive: "I don't know what kind of film it is," he told reporters, before adding that election officials "should continue efforts to clarify any fraud allegations that anyone raises."
In a statement issued Thursday, the National Election Commission said the film "promotes election fraud conspiracy theories without clear evidence" and expressed "deep concern and regret" over what it called baseless fearmongering.
On its opening day Wednesday, the documentary drew 2,066 viewers across 40 screens — including 13 in Seoul and seven in Daegu — according to Korea Film Council data.

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