South Korean President Lee Jae Myung Shares Video Accusing Israeli Soldiers Of Palestinian Child Abuse

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ignited a diplomatic row with Israel after sharing a video that appeared to show Israeli soldiers abusing a Palestinian child and throwing him off a rooftop.

“Israel has criticised South Korea’s president for sharing video of violence against Palestinians by the Israeli army”

Al Jazeera

Israel's foreign ministry condemned Lee's post as unacceptable and accused him of amplifying anti-Israeli disinformation.

Al Jazeera

The video actually showed a different angle of a 2024 event where Israeli soldiers pushed the body of an apparently dead adult man off a roof.

Lee doubled down despite the backlash, accusing Israel of failing to reflect on global criticism of its actions.

South Korea's foreign ministry sought to ease tensions by framing Lee's comments as a broader appeal for universal human rights.

Lee framed the Israeli military actions in the context of historical atrocities including Japanese wartime sexual slavery and the Holocaust.

The video was posted by a Palestinian content creator named Jvnior with about 152,000 followers.

Anadolu Ajansı

Opposition parties in South Korea criticized the president for sharing an unverified video.

People Power Party floor leader asked if South Korea is taking Iran’s side.

The Reform Party's Lee Jun-seok called it inappropriate for the president to express anger by sharing an unverified video.

The video Lee shared was from an incident in September 2024 in the occupied West Bank town of Qabatiya.

“President Lee likens video of Israeli soldiers abusing Palestinian child's corpse to comfort women, Holocaust Published: 10 Apr”

Korea JoongAng Daily

The White House at the time described the footage as deeply disturbing and demanded an explanation from Israel.

The IDF stated the incident constituted a serious incident which did not conform to its values.

Israel's foreign ministry accused Lee of reviving outdated material and presenting it as a current event.

Lee responded by emphasizing that human rights are the last bastion and a value that cannot be exchanged for anything.