by Sung Ku Hong
Head Reporter, News And Post
Around the time Donald Trump’s second administration took office, South Korea went through a tumultuous period as if under a spell.
From the sudden declaration and swift lifting of martial law, to the presidential impeachment, early elections, and even allegations of election fraud following the local elections, the streets of South Korea have been filled with the ceaseless cries of the people for the past year and a half.
South Korea’s media outlets, controlled by labor unions; the National Assembly, suspected of being seized through election fraud; and the Lee Jae-myung administration—which is also suspected of having taken power through election fraud—have consistently ignored the people’s cries.
With even the judiciary going along with the South Korean left’s one-sided claims and stigmatization as “rebellion,” the South Korean people, who are calling for the restoration of liberal democracy, are urging the United States—a democratic ally bound by a mutual defense treaty—and President Trump to intervene immediately and directly.
The remarks made by former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn when he spoke at CPAC in Texas last March were not an unexpected new claim. Rather, they were a concise expression of what millions of South Koreans have been shouting all night long on the streets for the past year and a half.
While South Koreans find some comfort in the fact that some MAGA figures in the U.S. are expressing deep concern over the current situation in South Korea and that Republican members of the House of Representatives are sending warning messages to the South Korean government, the people still want President Trump’s immediate and direct intervention.
The reason is simple: they have concluded that it has become practically impossible to defend liberal democracy through their own efforts alone.
In January 2026, the operation to arrest Venezuela’s Maduro—who had clung to power through electoral fraud—raised great expectations among the people of South Korea. Subsequently, the launch of military operations against Iran in late February served as a catalyst that ignited hope among Koreans.
However, that hope is quickly turning into concern.
The Ssangbangwool Group provided $8 million to the North Korean regime to facilitate Lee Jae-myung’s visit to North Korea, and as a result, Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young was even convicted. Although complaints and reports regarding this matter have already been filed with the State Department, the Trump administration has remained inactive.
Claims that Lee Jae-myung is a “fake president” elected through electoral fraud were made at a 2025 press conference held at the Washington, D.C., Press Club; although John Mills—one of the speakers at that time—currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, the Trump administration continues to act as if the 2024 general election and the 2025 early presidential election were legitimate.
Even though Morse Tan, who served as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice in Trump’s first administration, is currently barred from leaving the country by the South Korean government and is undergoing an unjust investigation, the Trump administration has taken no action whatsoever in response.
Suspicions are being raised that the Trump administration may be being misled by signals from the Lee Jae-myung administration suggesting that the U.S.-South Korea alliance will continue to hold on security issues.
A recent op-ed by Fred Fleitz in Newsmax has further fueled these suspicions. Fleitz pointed out that the Lee Jae-myung administration’s approach to security issues should be extended to matters of the private economy as well.
His remarks, made in the context of incidents involving Coupang and Starbucks, give the impression that the Trump administration is satisfied with the Lee Jae-myung administration’s handling of security alliance matters.
However, the South Korean public is more concerned than ever about the current security situation on the Korean Peninsula.
A public petition calling for the impeachment of Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek garnered over 250,000 signatures in just one week, and the People Power Party has already adopted the motion to impeach Minister Ahn as its official party position.
Minister Ahn officially disbanded the Armed Forces Counterintelligence Command—a military counterintelligence system that had been in place for 49 years—reduced the number of border guards at frontline GOP (General Outpost) barbed-wire fences to about one-fourth of the current level, and, under the guise of “outsourcing non-combat areas to the private sector,” entrusted the security of rear units to private security firms. Furthermore, He has also been criticized for pushing to consolidate the Army, Navy, and Air Force Academies into a single National Defense Academy, which is seen as undermining the unique traditions of each branch and weakening the professionalism of junior officers.
Although the Lee Jae-myung administration is striving to regain wartime operational control, the South Korean public is concerned that doing so would create a major security gap on the Korean Peninsula.
The significant disconnect between the Trump administration’s analysis and the sentiments of the South Korean public is not limited to security issues alone. This is a phenomenon manifesting across all sectors—including politics, the economy, society, culture, and education—driven by South Korea’s “anti-state forces,” which employ thorough camouflage tactics.
How South Korea Differs from Iran and Venezuela… How the South Korean Government Resembles Iran and North Korea
Unlike Iran or Venezuela, South Korea is an ally of the United States and hosts U.S. military forces.
In particular, through the “Mutual Defense Treaty Between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America” signed in 1953, South Korea and the United States have pledged to jointly respond to attacks by foreign powers. This pledge was officially expanded in 2023 during President Yoon Suk-yeol’s state visit to the United States, extending the scope of the ROK-U.S. alliance from its traditional focus on land, sea, and air forces to include “cyberspace.”
South Korean citizens believe that an “Unrestricted Warfare(hybrid war)” originating from the Chinese Communist Party is already underway in cyberspace, involving various forms of public opinion manipulation, election fraud, and election interference.
Former Ambassador Morse Tan stated in early May, “After the U.S. declares a DEFCON through the United Nations Command (UNC), it must remove Lee Jae-myung and reinstate Yoon Suk-yeol.” This implies that direct intervention utilizing U.S. Forces Korea is possible.
Meanwhile, the current South Korean government shares characteristics similar to those of the Iranian or North Korean regimes. All are adept at stalling for time through deception.
North Korea is more adept at this tactic than anyone else. Thanks to this, North Korea has acquired nuclear weapons and successfully developed intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear submarines. Iran also appears to be employing the same methods used by North Korea; it is obvious that while pretending to negotiate on the surface, it is simultaneously strengthening its domestic political control and accelerating weapons development and production behind the scenes.
Lee Jae-myung has pursued pro-North Korean policies under the guise of peace, yet has failed to gain North Korea’s recognition; he has also implemented pro-China policies under the banner of economic cooperation, but in the end, he is only causing harm to the South Korean people.
Policies such as allowing visa-free entry for Chinese nationals, offering mortgage loans with better terms than those available to South Korean citizens, and granting voting rights to non-citizens are being implemented, yet the majority of South Koreans oppose these measures.
While the details of the discussions between officials representing the Lee Jae-myung administration and the U.S. negotiating team remain undisclosed, the U.S. administration’s actions are causing growing disappointment and frustration among South Koreans who desperately desire change and recovery.
Just how much does the Trump administration actually trust the “pragmatism” touted by the Lee Jae-myung administration?
Why is the Trump administration turning a blind eye to the claims of the South Korean people that the Lee Jae-myung administration is an illegitimate regime?
Does the Trump administration have any intention of listening to the voices of the South Korean people?
Faced with a reality where the legislative, executive, and judicial branches—and even the media—have all been taken over by anti-state forces, the Korean people continue to offer tearful prayers even today.
Tens of thousands of young people gathered at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium have been standing guard there 24 hours a day for over a month to protect ballot boxes considered evidence of election fraud. It is not hard to see people singing hymns and praying fervently at the site.
This is because their only remaining hope is God. And many of the praying citizens believe that President Trump is God’s messenger who will save South Korea.
