South Korean President Lee Jae Myung drew harsh criticism from Israel after comparing a video of IDF soldiers pushing the dead body of a Palestinian terrorist from a roof to Jewish suffering during the Holocaust.
On April 10, President Lee shared a video on X/Twitter by Jvnior of what appeared to be Israeli soldiers pushing a body over a roof. The caption of the original video was “LIVE FOOTAGE: IDF soldiers tortured a Palestinian kid and threw him off a roof.”
Lee wrote, “We need to verify whether this is true, and if it is, what actions were taken.” He then went on to compare “wartime killings” such as the one in the video to “the Holocaust of the Jews” and “comfort women” (the taking of Korean women as sex slaves during World War II).
Jvnior’s footage was actually not live, as stated, and instead dates back to September 2024. The body shown was not a child but an adult terrorist killed in an active firefight in the West Bank by the Duvdevan commando unit. The terrorist was deceased at the time of being thrown from the roof, but the IDF nevertheless condemned the incident, and the matter was investigated.
In response to Lee’s tweet, Israel’s Foreign Ministry tweeted, “The trivialization of the massacre of Jews on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel [is] unacceptable and warrant[s] strong condemnation.”
“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,” the ministry said. It noted that the Jvnior account is well-known for spreading anti-Israeli disinformation.
“We have not heard a single word from the president about the terrorists who were at the center of this event, nor have we heard a word from the president regarding the recent Iranian and Hezbollah terror attacks against Israeli citizens,” the ministry added.
Lee responded shortly after, acknowledging that the video was taken in September 2024 and that Israel conducted related investigations and took measures.
“A small relief, if any, is that it involved a corpse rather than a living person, but even a corpse deserves better treatment – this constitutes a violation of international law,” he said, adding that “the countless tragedies of past history have taught us that the preciousness of human rights is, above all, the supreme and finest value.
“We must not repeat the painful lessons left by those wounds as recurring horrific tragedies.”
Korea alleges Israel 'misunderstood' president's comments
Korea’s foreign ministry then weighed in, saying it regrets that the Israeli Foreign Ministry “misunderstood the intent of the president’s remarks, which were an expression of his convictions regarding universal human rights rather than an opinion on any specific issue.”
“The Government of the Republic of Korea remains steadfast in its opposition to all forms of violence and anti-humanitarian acts, including the acts of terrorism pointed out by Israel,” it said.
The Korean ministry also said it “continues to empathize deeply with the unspeakable suffering endured by Israel due to the Holocaust, and we once again express our profound condolences to the victims of the Holocaust.”
President Lee then wrote that “the message was intended to prevent the repetition of tragic history” and that he would “further verify the specific facts.”
South Korea under energy pressure
Geopolitical expert and Jewish People Policy Institute Senior Researcher Dr. Kobby Barda looked at the spat in light of current happenings in the Middle East. “The real story may not begin in Israel; it likely starts in Tehran and the Gulf,” he said.
Barda explained that South Korea is under unusual energy pressure, given that more than half of its oil comes from the Middle East.
“Any disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could paralyze it almost immediately. If there are indeed delays or blockages of tankers, from Seoul’s perspective, this is an emergency – not a slogan, but a real threat to the economy,” he said.
Barda also explained that South Korea has unresolved issues with Iran over billions of dollars in frozen funds.
“Seoul needs the Iranians calm, or at least not interfering,” he added.
“Amid this pressure, there is also a political need: to explain the situation to the public, to project a moral stance, and to demonstrate leadership on the international stage. Over the past year, Israel has become an issue that is relatively easy to ‘speak strongly about’ without paying a direct price.
“Bottom line: this is less a story about Israel and more about a pressured South Korea, energy concerns, Iran, and domestic politics. Israel has simply become a tool in the equation.”