How A 2024 Gaza Video Shared By South Korean President Sparked A Diplomatic Row With Israel

Last Updated:April 14, 2026, 5:24 PM IST

The diplomatic row unfolded at a time when South Korea is facing mounting economic pressure linked to the US-Israel war on Iran.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photos via AFP)

A social media post by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung triggered a diplomatic dispute with Israel after he commented on a video that appeared to show Israeli soldiers pushing a body from a rooftop.

The footage, which dates back to 2024, was originally posted online by a Palestinian activist account with a claim that it showed a “child being tortured” and thrown from a building.

The controversy began on Friday, April 10, when Lee reposted the clip and said he needed to verify its authenticity and whether any action had been taken.

What Lee shared on X?

The South Korean president also drew parallels between wartime killings and historical atrocities, including the Holocaust and the forced sexual slavery of Koreans known as “comfort women” during Japanese rule.

The post quickly drew international attention, with Lee also stating that there was “no difference” between such acts and wartime killings.

“I need to find out whether this is true, and if it is, what measures have been taken. The forced prostitution of comfort women that we are protesting against is no different from the massacre of Jews or wartime killings,” Lee had shared on X.

The remarks were widely circulated before he later added in another post shared the same day that, even if the victim was already dead, the handling of a body still amounted to a violation of international law.

“A small relief, if any, is that it involved a corpse rather than a living person, but even so, such treatment of a body constitutes a violation of international law,” the Seoul leader noted.

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Israel’s response

Israel’s foreign ministry strongly criticised the comments, accusing Lee of spreading disinformation by amplifying a “fake account” known for anti-Israeli content. It said the video had already been “investigated and addressed” and referred to an incident from a 2024 Israeli military operation in the West Bank.

“President Lee Jae Myung, for some strange reason, chose to dig up a story from 2024 and to cite a fake account that falsely presented it as a current event,” Israel’s foreign ministry said in a statement shared a day later, on April 11.

According to Israel, the footage showed an adult militant who had been killed during an operation and not a child, as claimed in the original post shared online.

The ministry also said Lee’s remarks were made on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel and accused him of trivialising the Holocaust and failing to acknowledge attacks on Israeli civilians.

South Korea’s govt clarification

South Korea’s foreign ministry later moved to contain the diplomatic fallout, saying Israel had “misunderstood” the president’s remarks. It stated that Lee’s comments were intended as a statement on “universal human rights” and not directed at any specific conflict.

The ministry also reiterated Seoul’s opposition to terrorism and expressed empathy with victims of violence, without issuing a formal apology. Lee himself later said it was “disappointing” that Israel had criticised his remarks, adding that empathy should apply across international relations.

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Economic strain amid Iran War

According to analysis reported by the South China Morning Postthe diplomatic row unfolded at a time when South Korea is also facing mounting economic pressure linked to the US-Israel war on Iran.

Security analyst Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Sookmyung Women’s University and former head of South Korea’s Institute for National Security Strategy, said around 26 South Korean tankers were believed to be stranded near the Strait of Hormuz.

Political-science professor Lee Jun-han of Incheon National University told the South China Morning Post that while South Korea could not be faulted for calling for a ceasefire and highlighting human rights concerns, it was “regrettable” that the president used a two-year-old video presented as current footage, which helped trigger the controversy.

Another analyst, Jhee Byong-kuen of Chosun University, suggested the remarks may also have carried broader diplomatic signalling. He told the outlet that the comments could be interpreted as a message to US President Donald Trump.

“He was sending a signal to Washington indirectly that South Korea wouldn’t be roped into participating in a war it didn’t ask for,” Byong-kuen said.

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