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Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has defended his failed martial law bid by rehashing baseless claims of voter fraud, which has triggered a fresh wave of misinformation online targeting the National Election Commission (NEC). Far-right social media users shared an old report about a lawsuit over alleged fraud in the 2020 parliamentary elections alongside a false claim the article exposed the election watchdog's "lies". In fact, the lawsuit was dismissed and the commission told AFP no evidence of voter fraud has been substantiated in court to date.

"Supreme Court assessor says 'shape-memory paper does not exist' … The National Election Commission's lies exposed," read a Korean-language Facebook post shared on December 20, 2024.

The post linked to a 2021 article with the same headline by right-wing South Korean online news outlet News and Post about a court case challenging the results of the 2020 parliamentary elections.

"Shape-memory paper" is a phrase used by far-right supporters -- emboldened by Yoon's presidency -- to refer to ballot papers in conspiracies about electoral fraud (archived link).

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on December 27, 2024

The now-impeached Yoon defended his short-lived declaration of martial law in December 2024 by doubling down on electoral fraud claims and defending his decision to deploy...

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