Archery national team member Jang Chae-hwan confirmed to have posted numerous extreme right-wing posts in addition to allegations of election manipulation
It has been further confirmed that the national archery representative Jang Chae-hwan (Sasang District Office) has continually posted various extreme right-wing posts on social media in addition to claims regarding the manipulation of the 21st presidential election.
On the 20th, Korea Ilbo reported that Jang Chae-hwan had used derogatory internet terms to belittle President Lee Jae-myung shortly after the presidential election in June through his Instagram story and had been posting in support of conspiracy theories regarding election fraud.
According to the report, Jang Chae-hwan captured an article stating that Korea had been re-designated as a currency monitoring target by the U.S. and referred to President Lee Jae-myung as "Jae-mai-ham."
This term is derived from a nickname of a Busan gangster and is used online as a derogatory term for President Lee Jae-myung.
He added a mocking comment to the post saying, “I’m just waiting for contact from Truang (Trump + Emperor), what should I do if I get other contact! Please send congratulations immediately before I get reported to the democratic police station!”
This was on the third day after President Lee Jae-myung took office, at a time when a phone call between the leaders of Korea and the U.S. had not yet taken place.
Multiple confirmations of election fraud conspiracy theories and extreme right-wing posts
Jang Chae-hwan also captured a netizen's post that seemed to confess to election fraud and wrote, “This is something I saw during the early voting period, but I passed it off as trivial. Where are you?”
He captured a CCTV screen that looked like a polling place and sarcastically remarked, "Is it because it's a shape-memory type that it stays stiff? So transparent, the election commission."
The shape-memory paper mentioned here is something that supporters of former President Yoon Seok-yeol claim is evidence of election fraud, referring to ballots that can be crumpled and returned to their original state.
Additionally, he posted a photo of himself with a green sash labeled "Reserve Forces Training" and a yellow sash with the phrase "Destroy Communism" placed over his military uniform.
Along with this photo, he wrote to the K-pop-related community "Theku," "Hey Thekus, I'm training wearing a destroy communism armband over my reserve forces training. If destroy communism is extreme right Ilbe, then you are anti-state forces. Let's have a session on anti-communism education."
Previously, he had also posted, "China = Manipulation of early voting = Jeolla-do = The election commission’s hellish collaboration" along with “Voting means main voting manipulation, let’s block the communist forces.”
As the controversy grew, Jang Chae-hwan apologized through social media, saying, "I feel very sorry and apologetic that the Korea Archery Association and the national team, as well as my affiliated team, are facing public criticism."
However, he further fueled public backlash by explaining, "I am a member of the second team and don't see myself as a public figure. The constitution states that all citizens are equal before the law, and I just expressed my personal political views."
Since national representatives are required to maintain "dignity" according to the Korea Sports Council's rules for selection and operation of national teams, his posts are likely to result in disciplinary actions.
The Korea Archery Association is expected to hold a Sports Fairness Committee meeting either at the end of this month or early next month to determine the disciplinary action and its severity.
Image source: National archery representative Jang Chae-hwan. / Photo provided by Korea Archery Association, Jang Chae-hwan's Instagram.
