SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean President Lee Jae-myung sparked an international controversy last week with a social media post that drew parallels between Israel's military actions in Gaza and historical atrocities, including the systematized sexual abuse of Korean women during Japanese colonial occupation and the Holocaust. The post, made on the platform X, quoted a video depicting Israeli Defense Forces soldiers hurling what appeared to be lifeless bodies from a rooftop, prompting backlash from Israel and a flurry of reactions at home and abroad.
According to the post by President Lee, shared on October 15, 2024, he wrote: “This is no different from Comfort Women or the Holocaust.” The quoted content originated from an account labeling the footage as “LIVE FOOTAGE: IDF soldiers tortured a Palestinian kid and threw him off a roof.” However, fact-checkers and reports from The Associated Press clarified that the video dated back to September 2024 and showed soldiers handling at least four apparently lifeless bodies, which Israel identified as dead militants. Under international law, the bodies of enemy combatants must be treated with dignity, and Israeli authorities launched an investigation into the incident shortly after it surfaced.
The president's decision to amplify the unverified post ignited a firestorm on social media, with users debating the accuracy of the video and the appropriateness of the analogies. While the video's context was indeed outdated and misleadingly presented, the underlying event raised questions about military conduct. President Lee, known for his active online presence, has a history of using social media impulsively. Before assuming the presidency, he gained international attention in 2023 by livestreaming himself scaling a fence around the National Assembly to vote against a martial law declaration, showcasing his penchant for bold, unfiltered digital engagement.
In follow-up posts, President Lee acknowledged the video's age but stood firm in his criticism. “I’m disappointed that Israel is refusing to reflect upon the worldwide suffering caused by its relentless violations of human rights and international law,” he stated on X. He also reposted a detailed critique of Israel's policies authored by a progressive South Korean activist, further emphasizing his stance on global human rights issues.
Israel responded sharply to the Holocaust reference, viewing it as particularly inflammatory. Israeli officials, as reported by The Jerusalem Post, expressed outrage over the comparison, which they saw as equating Israel's defensive actions with one of history's greatest genocides. The analogy to the “Comfort Women” — a term referring to the estimated 200,000 women, many from Korea, forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II — carried even deeper resonance in South Korea. This issue has strained Seoul-Tokyo relations for decades, with ongoing disputes over apologies, reparations, and historical denialism symbolizing broader efforts to erase Korean identity under colonial rule.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry moved quickly to mitigate the fallout. On October 16, 2024, it “expressed regret” over the “misunderstanding,” according to Yonhap News Agency. By October 18, The Jerusalem Post reported that the dispute had been “resolved” through diplomatic channels, though details of any formal agreement remained undisclosed.
Despite the official backpedaling, support for President Lee poured in from within his Democratic Party of Korea. Institutional politicians rallied behind him for days, framing the episode as a pivotal moment in the nation's foreign policy. Lee Nak-yon, chair of the ruling liberal party, described the affair as “a milestone in the history of South Korean diplomacy,” according to The Blue Roof, a policy analysis outlet. He portrayed Korea's approach as centered on “world peace and human dignity,” with party members invoking universal human rights and adherence to international law.
This backing highlighted a subtle shift in South Korea's geopolitical positioning. The post drew explicit parallels between Japan's historical denialism and Israel's actions in Palestine, a connection that resonated deeply given South Korea's non-recognition of Palestine as a state. Resistance to Japanese occupation remains a cornerstone of modern Korean identity, making such analogies potent in domestic discourse.
Observers noted that President Lee's social media habits have led to prior diplomatic hiccups. Earlier this year, he posted content that strained relations with Cambodia, prompting an op-ed in a major Korean outlet to call for an “overhaul” of how the president’s X account is managed. The piece suggested involving responsible staff to handle posts, rather than the leader's direct involvement, to avoid such gaffes.
The incident unfolds against a backdrop of evolving global alliances. South Korea, long a staunch U.S. ally, has faced economic pressures from shifting American policies. The Trump administration's tariffs in 2018-2020 disrupted trade, while the ongoing Iran conflict has rippled through energy markets, affecting Seoul's economy. In March 2024, the unilateral withdrawal of U.S. missiles from South Korean soil for use in the Middle East underscored vulnerabilities; a similar deployment a decade earlier triggered Chinese boycotts that cost billions in economic damage.
These events have eroded the reliability of traditional partnerships. As the U.S. retreats from multilateral institutions it once championed — including those rooted in the post-Nuremberg international legal order — South Korea finds itself recalibrating. NATO's fractures and the waning influence of China hawks in Washington have eased some tensions with Beijing, once exacerbated by missile deployments on the peninsula.
President Lee's outburst, while delivered in a Trump-like impulsive style, aligns with a broader pivot toward independent diplomacy emphasizing human rights and international norms. What began as a questionable quote-post has been recast by his allies as the end of an era dominated by unwavering U.S. alignment. In a world where American hegemony wanes, former allies like South Korea are charting new paths, potentially prioritizing global justice over strategic deference.
Critics, however, caution that such public diplomacy risks isolating Seoul. An exhausted-sounding op-ed in a Korean publication warned that unchecked social media use could undermine professional foreign policy efforts. Yet, with institutional voices legitimizing the president's stance, the episode may signal a more assertive Korea on the world stage, one willing to invoke its own historical traumas to critique contemporary conflicts.
As the dust settles, questions linger about the long-term impact. Will this mark a sustained shift in South Korean foreign policy, or another fleeting online controversy? Diplomatic watchers in Seoul and Jerusalem await further developments, while social media continues to buzz with divided opinions on the president's bold analogies.