South Korea’s ruling party demands probe into posts linking Lee Jae-myung to Epstein

South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party called for a comprehensive investigation Monday into online posts alleging a connection between President Lee Jae Myung and the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

The party announced it will file a formal police report regarding the allegations on Feb. 6.

Rep. Kim Dong-ah, vice chair of the party’s anti-disinformation task force, labeled the posts "for-profit violence" rather than protected speech. He characterized the claims as a "politically motivated crime" aimed at damaging the honor of the head of state.

The allegations originated from an online video citing a 2016 email between Epstein and Soon-Yi Previn, the wife of director Woody Allen, concerning a donation to a South Korean orphanage. The video’s creator suggested a link to President Lee based on a visit the president made to a monastery in December 2025.

Kim demanded that authorities identify those responsible for producing and distributing the content. He also called on digital platform operators to cooperate fully with the investigation.

The South Korean Democratic Party’s response to recent online allegations marks a significant escalation beyond a simple denial. By characterizing viral rumors as "for-profit violence" and "politically motivated crimes," the party is executing a calculated strategy to seize control of the narrative. This rhetorical shift transforms disparate social media posts into an organized, malicious campaign, effectively forcing content creators into a defensive legal posture.

The core of the controversy—a tenuous link between a 2016 donation from the Epstein estate and a scheduled 2025 presidential visit to a related facility—illustrates the ease with which conspiracy theories are synthesized in South Korea’s hyper-polarized political environment. For political adversaries, the factual integrity of these claims is secondary to their utility as a tool for reputational damage.

This incident serves as a primary case study in digital-era information warfare. The party’s strategy extends beyond individual bad actors to target the social media platforms themselves, pressuring them to accept greater liability for the dissemination of content. This reflects a broader global trend where political entities are increasingly seeking to regulate digital information flows, a move that raises complex questions regarding the threshold between combating disinformation and infringing upon free speech.

This incident serves as a prime example of how disinformation and conspiracy theories are weaponized for political gain. It is a phenomenon growing at an alarming rate globally, and the Vietnamese diaspora is far from immune. Whether it’s through family group chats or conversations in the nail salons and phở restaurants of Little Saigon, unverified claims often spread rapidly across social media platforms. This flow of misinformation profoundly impacts community life, distorting everything from political perspectives to the way families navigate the complexities of remittances and the F2B, H-1B, or EB-5 visa processes.