The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) on April 4, 2025. The caption in the video reads, translated from Korean into English by Lead Stories staff:

I congratulate you on your dismissal. #YoonSukYeol #KimKunHee #Dismissal #President #ConstitutionalCourt

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Wed Apr 9 01:15:06 2025 UTC)

A similar TikTok video (archived here) depicts an image of ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol wearing an orange prison uniform, crying next to the former First Lady Kim Kun Hee, who also wears the same outfit.

Both depictions were AI-generated videos and photos. The footage was watermarked with Kling AI 1.6 (archived here), a text-to-video AI model developed by Kuaishou, a Chinese short-video platform. A political humor bulletin board (archived here), found through a reverse Google image search, shows that the image of Yoon crying in an orange prison uniform, with the user describing the prompt they used on ChatGPT or Sora (OpenAI's video generation model) (archived here) to generate the image.

On April 4, 2025, the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the impeachment motion (archived here) against President Yoon Suk Yeol, removing him from office. Yoon was not present during the announcement. In an article (archived here) by the Hankyoreh, Yoon reportedly "did not express his intention to 'accept defeat' until the very end."Former President Yoon stayed at his presidential residence (archived here) in Hannam-dong for several days after the Constitutional Court's decision, as there are no specific written regulations on when an impeached president must vacate the official residence. Yoon left the official residence and returned to his private apartment (archived here) in Seoul on April 11, 2025.

The Office of the President of the Republic of Korea website (archived here) was under maintenance after former President Yoon's impeachment. The website is now available, but there have been a few changes since the maintenance, as press release statements are no longer accessible.

The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) on February 26, 2025. The caption in the video reads, translated from Korean into English by Lead Stories staff:

Jun Hyun Moo visited President Yoon Suk Yeol at the Seoul Detention Center. He urgently visited the detention center to meet President Yoon.

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Fri Mar 7 01:23:43 2025 UTC)

A similar TikTok video (archived here) also claimed Jun Hyun Moo postponed filming the "I Live Alone" show to attend President Yoon Suk Yeol's trial as an observer. The caption in the video reads, translated from Korean into English by Lead Stories staff:

Jun Hyun Moo made a surprise appearance at President Yoon Suk Yeol's trial.
He postponed filming "I Live Alone" to attend the trial as an observer. Jun took an oath and watched the entire proceedings from start to finish. Representing a civic group, he reportedly declared his support for President Yoon's swift reinstatement. Following previous public statements from celebrities like Lim Young Woong, Park Na Rae, and Jang Yoon Jung, Jun also read a political declaration in the courtroom.

Upon hearing Jun's remarks, President Yoon expressed deep gratitude, stating that he was thankful for Jun's efforts in coming to the courtroom to help save the country. He added that thanks to Jun, he was able to carry on. During his final argument, President Yoon emphasized that he had tirelessly worked to protect and save the nation, and he sincerely appreciated the numerous top celebrities who participated in the political declaration. He further stated that South Korea remains strong because of the countless citizens, including Jun, who have stepped up to defend it. Without them, he claimed, he would not have made it this far, and he issued a nationwide message of appreciation.

Jun's loyalty has drawn widespread praise from netizens, and conservatives have expressed their deep appreciation, believing that thanks to Jun, the judges will be able to make the right decision. Some supporters even stated that Jun's courtroom presence was a crucial factor. Jun reportedly declared that he was willing to leave "I Live Alone" if necessary to participate in President Yoon's political declaration.

Jun Hyun Moo (archived here) is an entertainer and a long-time television personality host. He is currently part of hosting the show "I Live Alone," which airs every Friday. The show "I Live Alone" (archived here), which MBC broadcasts, did not have any special announcements regarding a postponement of the show in the past few months. Additionally, there were no official statements from Jun on his social media (archived here).

Also, Chosun News (archived here) stated that the Seoul Detention Center only allowed one general visit a day for President Yoon. Multiple news outlets have reported on individuals who visited President Yoon during his stay at the detention center (archived here). The Seoul Detention Center also had no official statements on its website under the press release section, which has not been updated since November 2024 (archived here).

On January 31, 2025, the senior staff (archived here), including the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, Hong Chul Ho, visited President Yoon. Later, on February 3, 2025, three prominent political figures met with President Yoon: People Power Party's emergency response chairman Kwon Young Se, Floor Leader Kwon Seong Dong, and Na Kyung Won.

Due to President Yoon's visitation limits at the detention center, only a majority of People Power Party lawmakers could meet him. This included People Power Party lawmakers Yoon Sang Hyun and Kim Min Jeon (archived here), who visited President Yoon on February 7, 2025. Five lawmakers (archived here), including People Power Party Kim Ki Hyun and former Floor Leader Choo Kyung Ho, visited the detention center on February 10, 2025.

There were no relevant Google search results (archived here) for "Jun Hyun Moo" and "Yoon Seok Yeol." The most recent news related to Jun was about dating rumors (archived here) with KBS announcer Hong Joo Yeon, who is 20 years younger than him.

The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) on January 21, 2025. The caption in the video reads, translated from Korean into English by Lead Stories staff:

Declaration of war against Chinese spies - South Korea's indifference to espionage is severe.

99 Chinese spies have confessed to manipulating public opinion and rigging elections.

For 25 years, South Korea has been a lawless state. Spies have infiltrated and attempted to overthrow the nation's system.

The left-wing Democratic Party and its leader, Lee Jae-myung, are key figures in this effort and must be eliminated.

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Wed Jan 29 00:52:30 2025 UTC)

The claim about 99 Chinese spies confessing to manipulating public opinion originated from an exclusive article (archived here) on Sky Daily published on January 16, 2025. The article claimed that martial law forces and the U.S. military conducted a joint operation to raid the NEC, and arrested 99 Chinese nationals, when martial law was declared - and quickly revoked - on December 3, 2024. The Chinese spies "confessed to all charges of election interference during interrogation by the U.S. military," it stated. The article further added the South Korean and U.S. military authorities sent the Chinese spies to a U.S. military base in Japan.

The content of the Sky Daily article was refuted by the NEC, with a statement (archived here) issued on January 17, 2025. The post reads, translated from Korean into English by Lead Stories staff:

There have been some media reports claiming that during martial law, 90 Chinese hackers staying at the National Election Institute were arrested by martial law forces. However, this is completely false.

There are also claims that these 90 Chinese hackers were arrested at the National Election Institute during martial law and later handed over to U.S. intelligence authorities for investigation. This, too, is entirely untrue.

During martial law, the National Election Institute was operating two training programs: a promotion course for Level 5 officials and a placement course for Level 6 officials, with a total of 119 National Election Commission (NEC) officials participating. Among them, 88 officials (36 in the Level 5 promotion course and 52 in the Level 6 placement course) and 8 external lecturers, totaling 96 people, stayed at the facility. Additionally, martial law forces never entered the National Election Institute building.

In an exclusive article (archived here) reported by News1, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Cyber Investigation Unit announced they started investigating a complaint filed by the NEC against Sky Daily for obstruction of official duties and defamation on January 20, 2025.

Along with the NEC's press release, the USFK also posted on X (archived here) to refute the article's claim concerning the U.S. military's involvement in the alleged incident on January 20, 2025. The post reads (spelling as in the original, see screenshot below):

The depiction of U.S. Forces and the allegations in the mentioned ROK media article are entirely false. U.S. Forces Korea remains committed to it's mission of maintaining stability and security on the Korean Peninsula in accordance with the U.S.-ROK Mutual Defense Treaty. We urge responsible reporting and fact-checking to prevent the spread of misinformation that could harm public trust.

(Source: X screenshot taken on Feb 10, 2025 at 17:08:13 UTC)

After both official statements were issued by the NEC and USFK discrediting Sky Daily's exclusive article, several other media outlets, such as Chosun Ilbo, Yonhap News, JTBC News, Hankyoreh, and The Korean Herald similarly reported about Sky Daily's false allegations (archived here, here, here, here, and here).

The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) published on January 5, 2025, under the title, "윤석열 대통령 지지율 40% 돌파! 탄핵이후 지지율 오르는 상황 본적 있습니까? 국민들이 깨어나고 있다는 증거입니다," translated from Korean into English by Lead Stories staff as "President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating exceeds 40 percent! Have you ever seen a president's approval rating rise after impeachment? This is proof that people are becoming aware."

The headline of the screenshotted article shown in the video reads, as translated from Korean into English:

President Yoon's Approval Rating is 40.3%, Rose 10.1% in Two Months.

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Fri Jan 10 01:47:00 2025 UTC)

The screenshotted headline in the video is originally from a Chosun Ilbo article (archived here) published on January 2, 2023, and updated on January 8, 2024. President Yoon was inaugurated as the 20th President of South Korea on May 10, 2022 (archived here). Chosun Ilbo stated they commissioned an opinion poll company, Case Stat Research, for the 2023 New Year's special poll on the newly inaugurated president. The survey was conducted from December 26 to 27, 2022, when President Yoon's approval rating was 40.3 percent. However, 51.8 percent of the respondents said he was "doing poorly."

Similarly, a Gallup opinion poll showed President Yoon's approval rating as 37 percent in the first week of January 2023, while 54 percent of the respondents gave a negative evaluation (archived here). Real Meter, another polling company, also released an opinion poll on December 9, 2024, which conducted a two-month survey of President Yoon (archived here). The poll revealed that 79.2 percent of around 1,000 respondents disapproved of President Yoon, and his approval rating was down to 17.3 percent within the first week of December 2024, after he declared martial law. Gallup also released a comprehensive opinion poll of President Yoon on December 27, 2024 (archived here). The survey showed a year-long nationwide approval rating of President Yoon in 2024: According to Gallup's monthly presidential performance evaluation, (archived here), President Yoon's approval rating never surpassed 40 percent in 2024 and drastically declined to 13 percent in December (due to Yoon's martial law announcement) (archived here).

The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) where it was published on June 5, 2024, under the title "김정숙의 옷 절도 사건," or "Kim Jeong Sook's Clothing Theft Case," as translated into English by Lead Stories staff. The video claimed Kim's decision to alter the gift she received from Kovind violated the Presidential Records Management Act, as translated from Korean into English by Lead Stories staff:

There was nothing that went right when Kim Jeong Sook went to India. There was a problem with the clothing she wore, too. During Kim Jeong Sook's first visit to India, she received a sari, a traditional Indian garment, as a gift. This is a fabric that is more than ten meters long. According to Korean law, gifts received as state guests must be handed over to the Presidential Archives, and damaging these gifts is out of the question. This is all included in the Presidential Records Management Act. If the gifts are damaged or exposed in any way, this is punishable by up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won. But this was the moment Kim Jeong Sook's true personality was revealed. "It's a gift I received, so I can't do what I want with it? If I make the gift into a blouse and wear it, then they [India] will like it more. Make the gift into a blouse." Kim Jeong Sook took the presidential plane alone and wore the blouse the second time she visited India. "Ta-da, I made the gift you got me into a blouse. Isn't it pretty?" What is it like to damage a gift at will and casually show it to them? "The gift you gave me wasn't pretty, so I made it into a blouse." This is an attitude of disrespect, and the bigger problem was that Kim took this blouse home with her. Did anyone try to stop her?

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Tue Jun 25 14:01:52 2024 UTC)

The claim arose as Kim's first solo trip to India stirred controversy (archived here) following former President Moon Jae In's recent memoir (released in May 2024) that detailed and praised his wife's first solo diplomatic trip. The People Power Party criticized Kim for using an extravagant amount of taxpayers' money to fund her so-called "luxury in-flight meals" (archived here) on her solo trip to India, which Lead Stories staff previously reported. People Power Party lawmaker Kim Seok Ki further scrutinized Kim's solo trip to India as he held a press conference (archived here) on June 5, 2024, calling for a special prosecution on allegations of unauthorized release of presidential records. PPP lawmaker Kim stated, as translated from Korean into English by Lead Stories staff:

There were a total of 13 items transferred and stored by the Presidential Archives related to the saris former First Lady Kim received as gifts from the former Indian president's wife, and among these, the altered blouse worn by Kim was not kept.

The Presidential Records Management Act (archived here) refers to articles and records produced and received by the following organizations: the president, the president's assistance agencies, advisory agencies, and organizations that perform security duties. The articles and records refer to presidential symbols with national preservation value, presidential gifts received from citizens in connection with the performance of the president's duties, and the president's private records. Private records include the president's private diary or documents related to the president's political activities that do not directly affect the president's duties.

In 2018, The Blue House, the former official residence and executive office of the President of the Republic of Korea, posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) (archived here) the red blouse made from one of the saris gifted by Kovind that Kim wore to a luncheon in India. The post also included Kim's explanation of the meaning behind the altered blouse, as translated from Korean into English by Lead Stories staff: "I made the blouse on purpose for the prosperity of Korea and India, and I will wear it well."

This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:

(Source: X screenshot taken on Tue Jun 25 14:37:08 2024 UTC)

The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs also posted a press release (archived here) about Kim's attendance at the luncheon hosted by Kovind on November 5, 2018. The post also articulated the significance of the altered sari as Kim made it into a blouse with "hope that Koreans would share the philosophy and culture of India and that the two countries would be able to cultivate closer ties." During this luncheon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also reported that Korean songs were performed with Indian traditional instruments to "convey the symbolism of Kim's visit to India and the long-running special relations between the two countries."

Although the sari is considered a diplomatic gift and applicable under the Presidential Records Management Act, it was not damaged or used for personal purposes. Rather, the sari was repurposed into a blouse for diplomatic reasons, as former President Moon Jae In posted on both X (archived here) and Facebook (archived here) on June 6, 2024, outlining the significance of the repurposed blouse.

Moon stated that his wife wore the altered sari to several official diplomatic events, including a meeting with the former Indian foreign minister, and an IT technology-based class at the ASN Comprehensive School in New Dehli (archived here). In the Facebook post, Moon stated the alteration of the sari was a form of fashion diplomacy, as he also wore a traditional Indian garment vest gifted by former Prime Minister Modi. Moon also stated that according to media reports at the time, congressmen confirmed in July 2018 (after Kim's first visit to India) that out of the 13 sets of saris, Kim received as gifts, all except for the altered sari were kept as presidential records. Moon claimed that The Blue House treated the saris as presidential records rather than personal belongings at the time and that the singular altered sari served good diplomatic purposes. At the end of the Facebook post, Moon wrote, as translated from Korean into English by Lead Stories staff:

Is this to blame? Isn't it good? What's more, isn't it pathetic to criticize something that happened six years ago and insist on a special prosecution? Let's do some decent politics, please.

The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) published on April 16, 2024. The text in the video read in English (as translated from Korean into English by Lead Stories staff):

Lee Jae Myung's pledges:

End-of-war declaration

Withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea

Transition to a lower-level federal system

North Korean-style absorption reunification

Dissolution of conglomerates

Dismantling of churches

Unconditionally thanking China

This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:

(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Apr 22 14:48:40 2024 UTC)

Although talks about peace on the Korean peninsula have occurred, there was no evidence to suggest that Lee officially wanted to issue a declaration to end the Korean War, as such a step would involve complex diplomacy. In a live broadcast (archived here) of Lee meeting with the delegation of peace action on the Korean Peninsula for the 70th anniversary of the armistice on July 4, 2023 (archived here), Lee did not specifically mention an end-of-war declaration, but said (as translated):

Recently, there has been a lot of controversy over the armistice and the end of the war... it is important to develop the power to win, but there is something more important than this. We win without fighting, and what is more important than that is the state where there would be no need to fight... it's about creating peace.

Contrary to the video's claim of Lee pledging to withdraw the U.S. troops from South Korea, in a press release (archived here) from the Democratic Party posted on November 11, 2022, Lee emphasized the importance of a strong alliance between the U.S. and South Korea. He mentioned that there is no need for nuclear weapons in the Korean Peninsula as long as the extended deterrence of the ROK-U.S. alliance continues. Lee stated, as translated:

I believe that Korea and the United States will need to continue to cooperate closely for the peaceful denuclearization of the entire Korean Peninsula. Next year will mark the 70th anniversary of the signing of the ROK-US alliance. Over the past 70 years, the ROK-US alliance has played a key role in the prosperity of the Republic of Korea and the peace regime in Northeast Asia. Based on the achievements made so far, we need to expand and advance the breadth and depth of our bilateral alliance.

No evidence was found on the official Democratic Party platform (archived here) explicitly pledging, on behalf of Lee, to transition to a lower-level federal system. South Korea historically has a strong central government, with legislative, executive, and judicial branches, in addition to specialized independent institutions, according to the Korean Cultural Center (archived here).

Concerning the video's claim of Lee's pledge to a "North Korean-style absorption reunification," Lee supports a peaceful process instead of drastic measures. Furthermore, Lee's stance on reunification has not changed since his run as a presidential candidate against Yoon in 2022 (archived here). In the official Democratic Party of Korea's policy pledge book for the 2024 general election (archived here and here), the pledges about North Korea are listed (as translated) as follows:

Stop creating military tensions and create an atmosphere of peace through the cessation of hostilities and the creation of trust.

Call for inter-Korean dialogue to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue.

Restoring the inter-Korean communication channel.

Building inter-Korean trust through humanitarian cooperation, such as joint health care and family reunions.

Providing humanitarian assistance to those vulnerable in North Korea.

Promoting reunions of separated families (such as visiting their hometowns)

Promoting North Koreans' human rights through humanitarian aid and development cooperation with the international community.

Lee also never explicitly stated the dissolution of conglomerates in South Korea. Still, he has strongly criticized (archived here) President Yoon's government for excessively deregulating the conglomerates and advocated for a framework that would hold them more accountable. Additionally, when Lee was running against Yoon for president, Lee had clarified (archived here) that he was referring to "dismantling the chaebol (conglomerate) system," which would include "internal transactions, unfair inheritance, and abuse of control."

There is no evidence to suggest that Lee had pledged to dismantle churches, as no results suggesting that were found on the official Democratic Party website (archived here), and Lee has attended church service (archived here) himself.

Lead Stories has already fact-checked the claim of Lee's alleged one-sided pro-China policy. The only mention of China in the 2024 Democratic Party Pledge (archived here) concerns fine dust particles (on page 123 of the pdf).