White House backs South Korea election as ‘fair’, flags concerns over ‘China's interference’

The White House on Tuesday said that South Korea's election — in which liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung secured the presidency — was conducted fairly.

However, it voiced concerns over interference from China.

A White House official said in an emailed response to a Reuters request for comment made at an earlier White House briefing, “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.”

"ROK" refers to the Republic of Korea.

However, right-wing supporters of US President Donald Trump have recently targeted Lee, who has emphasised the importance of maintaining a balanced relationship between Seoul, China, and the United States, Reuters reported.

Laura Loomer, a far-right activist who has risen from being an online provocateur to a self-declared adviser to Trump, posted “RIP South Korea” on X on Tuesday after Lee’s win was confirmed.

"The communists have taken over Korea and won the Presidential election today," she wrote. “This is terrible,” she added.

Loomer has shown herself to be highly influential: Several high-ranking White House officials were fired this year after she presented Trump with a list of national security staffers she perceived to be disloyal, Reuters reported.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement congratulating Lee, and like the White House spoke about the two countries' alliance, also calling it "ironclad." He made no mention of concerns about China.

“The United States and the Republic of Korea share an ironclad commitment to the Alliance grounded in our Mutual Defense Treaty, shared values, and deep economic ties,” Rubio said. “We are also modernizing the Alliance to meet the demands of today’s strategic environment and address new economic challenges.”

Rubio also said the United States would continue to deepen trilateral cooperation with South Korea and Japan, “to bolster regional security, enhance economic resilience, and defend our shared democratic principles.”

Earlier this year, as South Korea’s ousted former president Yoon Suk Yeol struggled to stay in power, he cited unproven allegations of election fraud as part of his justification for declaring martial law — ultimately led to his removal from office.

His supporters echoed “Stop the Steal” rhetoric and hoped for intervention from Donald Trump, though such support never materialized.

Last week, without providing evidence, Trump ally Mike Flynn, a retired general who briefly served as the president's national security adviser during his first term, referred in a post on X to "signs of fraud" in the South Korea election, and said a fraudulent outcome would only benefit the Chinese Communist Party, Reuters reported.

Another Trump ally, Steve Bannon, explored a similar theme of Chinese election interference on his WarRoom channel last week.

(With inputs from Reuters)