S. Korean posts misattribute unnamed White House official's remarks on 'Chinese election interference'

After South Korea's centre-left opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was elected president, an excerpt from an article in The Guardian was shared in posts misleadingly claiming the newspaper reported that election interference from China had helped him win. The article was in fact analysing comments from an unnamed White House official in the immediate aftermath of Lee's victory about the United States' concerns regarding "Chinese interference and influence in democracies around the world".

"The Guardian, UK: Lee Jae-myung was elected president due to China's election interference," reads part of a Korean-language X post shared on June 7, 2025.

The post features screenshots of an analysis The Guardian published on June 4, which looked at the issues facing Lee, from trade to diplomacy (archived link).

A paragraph from the article, which was also highlighted and translated into Korean, reads: "Inevitably, though, he will soon have to find a way to engage with Donald Trump's White House, whose initial reaction to Lee's resounding victory over his conservative opponent was to suggest that his bumpy path to power had been smoothed by Chinese interference in the vote."

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Screenshot of the misleading X post, captured on June 11, 2025

The June 3 polls that elected Lee, triggered by the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial bid, were clouded by unsubstantiated claims of foreign interference, with South Korea's conservatives accusing Beijing of underhandedly backing progressive candidates.

Similar posts were shared elsewhere on X, as well as on Facebook, Threads and South Korea's DC Inside forum.

"Even the UK's left-leaning outlet The Guardian discusses Chinese election interference, yet only South Korean leftists remain unaware," read a comment on one of the posts.

Another said, "Britain has confirmed Lee Jae-myung was made president by China."

The Guardian article, however, does not say China interfered in the June 3 vote.

The analysis piece appears to be referring to remarks from an unnamed White House official in response to a request for comment from Reuters and the Yonhap News Agency after the election (archived here and here).

The official told the news agencies: "The US-ROK Alliance remains ironclad. While South Korea had a free and fair election, the United States remains concerned and opposed to Chinese interference and influence in democracies around the world."

"The official did not elaborate on the reference to alleged Chinese interference or connect it directly to the South Korean election," the Reuters article adds, but notes that US President Donald Trump's right-wing allies have criticised Lee who has "spoken of the need to balance Seoul's relations with China and the United States".

The White House official's remarks stood in contrast to the congratulatory statement from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also reaffirmed the "ironclad" alliance between the countries (archived link). Rubio's statement made no mention of interference in the election.

AFP has previously debunked other misinformation surrounding the 2025 presidential election in South Korea.