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Pained cries rang out in front of former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s official residence on Friday, as judges of the Constitutional Court judges confirmed his impeachment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I came here with hope in my heart, believing we would win … It’s so unfair,” 64-year-old Won Bog-sil told BBC Korean from the rally, where thousands had gathered in support of Yoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These scenes were live streamed to thousands more on YouTube – a platform popular with not just Yoon’s supporters but the president himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A disgraced Yoon is now stripped of his power, but he leaves behind an ever more divided South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last December, Yoon’s shock martial law declaration<\/a> cost him the confidence of much of the country<\/a>. But among his supporters, his ongoing legal troubles have only further buttressed the image of a wronged saviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of them echo narratives peddled by influential right-wing YouTubers who support Yoon: that martial law was necessary to protect the country from pro-North Korea opposition lawmakers and a dangerously powerful opposition, and that Yoon’s conservative party was a victim of election fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All this has culminated in a fringe movement that has become both more energised and extreme, spilling out from behind computer screens onto the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Stop the Steal” signs have become a fixture at pro-Yoon rallies – co-opted from supporters of US President Donald Trump, whose own political career has been helped by a network of conservative YouTubers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly after Yoon’s arrest in January, enraged supporters stormed a courthouse in Seoul, armed with metal beams, assaulting police officers who stood in their way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last month, an elderly man died after setting himself on fire near Seoul City Hall weeks earlier. A stack of fliers accusing opposition leaders of being pro-North Korean forces were found near him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n