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"We are watching your hard work through live YouTube broadcasts. We will fight to the end. Let's stay strong together."

When President Yoon Suk-yeol sent a letter encouraging his supporters who had gathered near the Hannam-dong presidential residence on the 1st of this month, conservative political YouTubers became busy. They defended the December 3 martial law and raised their voices against impeachment, rapidly increasing their subscriber numbers by almost copying President Yoon's claim that the arrest warrant was executed illegally. To see how the individual YouTubers leading the pro- and anti-impeachment rallies for President Yoon in Hannam-dong are mobilizing their supporters, we went to the rally site.

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"Impeachment is invalid! Investigate the fraudulent election!" On the 14th, when the temperature felt like minus 20 degrees Celsius, a man took the microphone on the stage at the Hannam-dong rally and shouted these words. On the screen behind him, a YouTuber's channel video was playing. The seated crowd waved Korean and American flags and chanted along. Words like "anti-state forces," "eradicate communism," and "His Excellency" could be heard. The rallies were mainly led by YouTubers. They took the stage as speakers and broadcasted themselves live on their YouTube channels.

The atmosphere grew increasingly heated. They sang a song made from President Yoon's letter to his supporters, and also performed a song called "Traitors" criticizing lawmakers such as former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, who supported the impeachment vote. Kim Junim (71), who said it was his first time at a rally, explained, "I learned the songs by watching YouTube so I could sing them at the rally." When asked why he attended, Kim said, "I wanted to respond to President Yoon's words encouraging his supporters to fight to the end."

Most of the rally participants we met on site were elderly, in their 60s to 80s. Jang Gilja (66), who was standing in line to receive winter supplies and food provided by someone's sponsorship, said, "Watching YouTube at home is part of my daily routine, but I like being able to come to the rally and have my voice heard." Even while sitting on the ground eating cup noodles or waving placards and chanting slogans, they never let go of their phones playing YouTube videos.

(Clockwise) Supporters of President Yoon watching YouTube on their mobile phones at the Hannam-dong rally site, YouTubers gathered at the pro-impeachment rally, a YouTuber criticizing the opposition party leader. Photo by Lee Isul

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Supporters warming themselves on large heated buses at the rally site also watched YouTube or news on their phones. Oh Hansu (72), whom we met on the bus, showed us his tightly packed YouTube streaming schedule from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and urged, "The host of a certain channel is a doctor and a lawyer, so there's a lot of useful political information. Be sure to watch." When asked what specific helpful information he found, he insisted, "Election fraud is real," and continued to elaborate on related claims. Saying, "I'm watching YouTube every day because I want to be helpful in some way," Oh reminded us of a die-hard fan obsessed with an idol singer.

President Yoon's supporters at the rally claimed that YouTubers were "telling the truth." They repeated the claim that President Yoon was behind the YouTubers and that they maintained a close relationship. Some supporters even made extreme statements, saying, "The news is fabricated fake propaganda, so you shouldn't watch it," and referenced North Korea.

The more politically charged the YouTuber, the stronger their influence at the rallies. "New Men's Solidarity" mentioned People Power Party local lawmakers at the rally on the 8th and demanded that people gather in front of the presidential residence. Naming names, they said, "We won't let you off the hook. Come quickly. This is not a request, it's a threat." This was broadcast live on their YouTube channel, and afterward, former and current youth committee chairs from the People Power Party's city and provincial chapters appeared at the scene. After being interviewed by YouTubers, they held a head-shaving ceremony on stage. The YouTubers said, "We should be the ones who can move the People Power Party leadership. We should be the ones using the lawmakers."

On the 31st, the day the court issued an arrest warrant for President Yoon Sukyeol, groups calling for the president's arrest and groups opposing the arrest faced off near the presidential residence in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, with the police standing between them. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

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Jeon Kwanghoon made strong remarks at the rally, mentioning the names of People Power Party lawmakers who voted in favor of impeachment. Lawmaker Yoon Sanghyun attended the rally, bowed 90 degrees, and even performed a deep bow in response to Jeon's comment, "You might become president if you do well." This was broadcast live on Jeon's YouTube channel "Jeon Kwanghoon TV." YouTubers freely mentioned People Power Party lawmakers at the rallies, and afterward, lawmakers actually attended the rallies, demonstrating their influence.

According to Playboard, a YouTube channel ranking platform, conservative political channels such as "Hong Cheolgi TV" and "Young Perspective" each received 2 to 4 million won in donations for their live coverage of the situation in front of the Hannam-dong residence. "God's Hand" received over 130 million won in Super Chat donations from December 5th, after the martial law incident, to the 2nd of this month. Its subscribers increased by more than 70,000, from 1.51 million before the martial law to about 1.58 million. As of January, most major conservative YouTube channels have gained tens of thousands of subscribers compared to November last year, before the martial law.

Among progressive YouTube channels, "Cat News" and "Kim Eo-jun's Humility Is Hard News Factory," hosted by broadcaster Kim Eo-jun, ranked first and second in donations, each receiving tens of millions of won in Super Chats on the day of President Yoon's second arrest warrant execution.

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YouTubers producing politically biased videos were enjoying a status virtually equivalent to that of news organizations among their conservative and progressive supporters, but most skipped the process of verifying the claims they spread.

Unverified information spread from YouTube to the rallies and back to YouTube again. Most news organizations report according to journalistic principles, such as fact-checking and seeking counterarguments. In contrast, on YouTube, a one-person media platform, anyone can create videos and broadcast live, creating an environment where people can spread claims without principles.

At the rallies, supporters loudly claimed, "President Yoon's approval rating has exceeded 40%," and YouTubers broadcast this live, asserting, "The rise in approval rating reflects the people's support for martial law." They went on to say, "Soon the approval rating will exceed 50%," and claimed that there were even more supporters among people in their teens and twenties. However, the poll by the Korea Opinion and Reputation Research Institute (KOPRA), which reported this approval rating, is criticized for not using exemplary survey methods, such as asking questions based on 'support' for President Yoon. Still, there were no YouTubers at the scene who objectively explained this issue.