South Korea president clashes with Israel on rights

SEOUL, South Korea: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday accused Israel of failing to “reflect” on allegations of rights abuses by its forces, after Israel decried him for amplifying alleged social media “disinformation”.

The Seoul leader irked Israel’s foreign ministry this week with his comments on a social media video with a caption it showed Israeli soldiers torturing and pushing a “Palestinian kid” off a roof.

“I need to look into whether this is true, and if so, what measures have been taken,” Lee said Friday on X.

AFP was not able to immediately identify provenance of the video, which has been widely shared on social media.

However, it appeared to show the different angle of an incident captured by AFPTV in the West Bank two years ago, when reporters saw an Israeli soldier use his foot to push the body of a dead adult man off a roof.

In 2024 the White House called the footage “deeply disturbing” and said it had demanded an explanation from Israel amid its intensifying raids on the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.

Israel’s foreign ministry claimed in a statement on Saturday the incident was already “investigated and addressed”.

“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,” said a ministry social media statement.

“This account is notorious for spreading anti-Israeli disinformation and falsehoods about Israel,” it added.

South Korea’s foreign ministry attempted to defuse the escalating social media confrontation.

In a statement it said Lee’s post — which drew parallels between alleged Israeli abuses and historical atrocities against Jews and Koreans — was a call to “universal human rights rather than an opinion on any specific issue”.

But on Saturday Lee issued another pointed social media missive, commenting on a news article detailing Israel’s backlash against his remarks.

“It’s disappointing that you don’t even once reflect on the criticisms from people around the world who are suffering and struggling due to relentless anti-human rights and anti-international law actions,” he said.

“When I am in pain, others feel that pain just as deeply.”

South Korea, an ally of Israel’s biggest international backer the United States, has generally maintained a balanced stance on strife in the Middle East, without backing any one side in the conflict.