North Korea’s Alleged Election Meddling: A Threat to South Korean Democracy?

Ministry of Unification warns of North Korean election interference

On April 2nd, the Ministry of Unification revealed that North Korea had attempted to interfere in the upcoming general elections and issued a strong warning to North Korea. As the April 10th General Elections are just a week away, the Ministry made a statement regarding North Korea’s attempts to interfere.

The Ministry stated, “North Korea continues to plot and scorn our president through state-run media outlets such as the Rodong Sinmun and the Korean Central News Agency, exaggerate anti-government protests in some parts of our country, and incite division within our society.”

The Ministry added, “Such attempts by North Korea could undermine the foundation of our free democratic system. The government will not tolerate this, and these tactics will not deceive wise citizens.”

The Ministry of Unification stated it would respond sternly to North Korea’s intensified attempts to interfere in the elections, emphasizing, “North Korean fake news and propaganda will not be tolerated in our free democratic system.”

North Korean media outlets have reportedly labeled the Yoon Suk Yeol administration as a fascist dictatorship and prosecutorial dictatorship. They also suggested that the democratic forces should push for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol if they secure a majority in the next parliament.

On the 19th, Rodong Sinmun and the Korean Central News Agency reported, “Building an Impeachment Parliament through the Total Unity of Democratic Forces Opposing Yoon Suk Yeol Dictatorship.” Three days later, on the 22nd, they reported on domestic anti-government protests, calling for “a struggle to make the April 10th general elections a day of judgment, retribution, and impeachment for Yoon Suk Yeol.”

It was revealed that articles promoting the overthrow of the current regime have been published in Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central News Agency for over ten days in March alone.

Previously, North Korea did not mention President Moon Jae In in the 21st general elections but criticized the conservative party, which was then the opposition party. In the 19th and 20th general elections, they directly criticized former presidents Lee Myung Bak and Park Geun Hye.

The Ministry of Unification claims that North Korea is trying to spread anti-government sentiment and distort the election structure by framing it as dictatorship vs. democracy.

However, some argue that the Ministry’s statement is an overinterpretation. They say it is difficult to see the publication of articles against South Korea as an attempt to interfere in the elections. North Korea has consistently published articles against South Korea. While the number of such articles has recently increased, it is hard to understand why the Ministry personally defined this as an attempt to interfere in the elections.

Experts say there are several contradictions in the Ministry’s claim of election interference.

The articles that the Ministry referred to are not accessible in South Korea as the websites of Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central News Agency are blocked by the police under the review of the Broadcasting Communications Review Committee. Therefore, South Korean citizens residing in the country cannot verify them.

Also, domestic media usually do not report on regular articles against South Korea and only quote parts of them when citing North Korean media.

When experts pointed out these contradictions, a Ministry of Unification official rebutted, “Although Korean Central News Agency is for foreign use and Rodong Sinmun is officially for domestic use, it is a fact that our citizens are accessing the content of Rodong Sinmun through various channels.”

The official also pointed out the ambiguity of whether more articles against South Korea have been published compared to previous General Elections.

The Ministry responded, “It’s not about the degree of severity or weakness. Mutual non-defamation and non-interference in internal affairs have been basic agreements since the 1970s,” emphasizing that “we are pointing out the failure to respect the spirit of the agreement and basic courtesy.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Unification had been pushing for a Rodong Sinmun opening project to make the newspaper accessible to the general public until early last year when Minister Kwon Young Se was in office.

The project was conducted to improve the difficult-to-access situation by lifting the access restrictions, allowing the general public to understand the reality of North Korea, and using Rodong Sinmun for research.

However, the project was halted when Minister Kim Yung Ho took office last year. Minister Kim explained that the reason for suspending the project was premature.