"The election poster for a Reform Party candidate running for Seoul's Gwangjin District Council is written entirely in Chinese. Is this China?" says part of a Korean-language Facebook post shared on May 26, 2026.
Attached to the post is the purported election poster written in traditional Chinese script for Kim Joo-yeon of the Reform Party -- which splintered from the main conservative opposition People Power Party (archived link).
Screenshot of the false post captured on May 27, 2026, with a red X and AI symbol added by AFP
The same image was also shared in similar X posts as South Koreans prepared to cast ballots in the June 3 local elections, the first nationwide vote since President Lee Jae Myung took office.
The posts, by predominantly right-wing users, pointed to the poster as evidence of Kim seeking support from the Chinese Communist Party, that Kim is a Chinese national, and of evidence of election fraud.
The circulating image, however, is not a genuine election poster distributed by either the candidate or his party.
In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, a growing number of South Koreans have fostered negative perceptions of China (archived link). The sentiment has proven to be fertile ground for online misinformation, with claims tying Chinese nationals to electoral and visa fraud surfacing around elections.
A spokesperson for the Reform Party told AFP on May 27 the image was fabricated and the party has requested the National Election...
"The election poster for a Reform Party candidate running for Seoul's Gwangjin District Council is written entirely in Chinese. Is this China?" says part of a Korean-language Facebook post shared ...