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New Delhi: A social media post by South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has triggered a sharp diplomatic exchange with Israel, exposing deeper tensions tied to Seoul’s shifting foreign policy amid the Iran war which has impacted it adversely economically.

The controversy began when President Lee, on Friday, retweeted a post by the account @Jvnior, which captioned footage as live and claimed “IDF soldiers tortured a Palestinian kid and threw him off a roof.” Adding his own comment, Lee wrote that he needed “to look into whether this is true, and if so, what measures have been taken.”

이게 사실인지, 사실이라면 어떤 조치가 있었는지 알아봐야겠습니다. 우리가 문제삼는 위안부 강제, 유태인 학살이나 전시 살해는 다를 바가 없습니다. https://t.co/owqj9Rg1lk — 이재명 (@Jaemyung_Lee) April 9, 2026

이게 사실인지, 사실이라면 어떤 조치가 있었는지 알아봐야겠습니다.

우리가 문제삼는 위안부 강제, 유태인 학살이나 전시 살해는 다를 바가 없습니다. https://t.co/owqj9Rg1lk

— 이재명 (@Jaemyung_Lee) April 9, 2026

In the same post, he added, “there is no difference between the wartime killings we have condemned — such as comfort women or the Holocaust — and this.”

The comparison, which placed Japan’s wartime system of sexual slavery alongside the Holocaust and wartime atrocities, drew immediate attention.

Hours later, Lee posted again, saying the footage depicted “a real incident that occurred in September 2024”.

He said the White House had described the episode as “deeply disturbing”, and that US officials, including (then White House National Security Council spokesperson) John Kirby, had called it “despicable and unacceptable”. He added that Israel had “reportedly conducted related investigations and took measures”.

Lee, who leads the liberal Democratic Party of Korea government, said the incident involved a dead body rather than a living person, but argued that the treatment still violated international law. “Even a corpse deserves better treatment,” he wrote.

He added that “international humanitarian law must be upheld” and that “human dignity must be safeguarded as an uncompromising, paramount value”.

Israel’s foreign ministry issued a strongly worded statement criticising the South Korean president’s remarks.

“The remarks by the President of Korea… including the trivialization of the massacre of Jews… are unacceptable and warrant strong condemnation,” it said, noting the timing ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The ministry said Lee had cited a “fake account” and misrepresented a 2024 incident as current.

It said the episode occurred during an operation against militants, at a time when Israeli soldiers faced “direct and immediate threats to their lives”, and added that it had been “thoroughly investigated and addressed two years ago”.

“Mr President, it’s always better to check before posting,” the statement said.

South Korea’s foreign ministry responded by saying Israel had misunderstood the president’s intent.

“We regret that the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs misunderstood the intent of the President’s remarks,” it said, adding that Lee’s comments reflected “convictions regarding universal human rights rather than an opinion on any specific issue”.

The ministry said South Korea “remains steadfast in its opposition to all forms of violence and anti-humanitarian acts”, while also opposing “the acts of terrorism pointed out by Israel”.

It added that “international humanitarian law and human rights must be upheld without exception” and expressed “deep condolences” to victims of the Holocaust.

Following Israel’s statement, Lee posted again, criticising the response.

© The Wire