South Korea's Lee Jae-myung Posts Footage of Alleged Israeli Atrocities

April 10, 2026 | 09:18 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung shared a video on social media on Friday, April 10, 2026, alleging that Israeli soldiers abused a Palestinian child and threw him off a roof.

In a post on Platform X, as reported by Anadolu, Lee stated the need to authenticate the video and evaluate the actions taken, while emphasizing the gravity of the accusations.

"Wartime homicide is no different from matters that we take issue with, such as the forced (enslavement of) comfort women, and the massacre of Jewish people," he said.

The comfort women issue refers to the period of Japanese occupation in the Korean Peninsula, during which Korean women suffered sexual crimes by the occupying forces.

The video was uploaded on Platform X by user Jvnior with the caption "LIVE FOOTAGE: IDF soldiers tortured a Palestinian kid and threw him off a roof. They call themselves ‘the most moral army.'"

Citing The Korean Times, the account has around 152,000 followers. The 20-second video has been viewed 428,000 times as of Friday at 10:30 AM.

Lee mentioned in a separate post that the incident occurred in September 2024.

He added that the White House referred to the incident as "disturbing," while Israel stated that it had conducted an investigation and taken related measures.

"U.S. officials, including John Kirby, even called it ‘abhorrent and egregious,'" Lee said as quoted by Korea JoongAng Daily. "It was also reported that Israel carried out an investigation and took measures."

Kirby, the spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, made the statement in September 2024.

Lee also noted that the incident involved a corpse, not a living person, and referred to it as "a small mercy, if it can be called that." Nonetheless, he emphasized that cruelty to the deceased still constituted a violation of international law.

He stressed that international humanitarian law must be upheld in all circumstances and human dignity must be preserved as the highest value.

In his latest post, the president stated, "For any reason and in any place, human rights are the last line of defense and a value that cannot be exchanged for anything."

He also said, "Many tragedies throughout history have shown that human rights are the highest and most essential value."

"People must not repeat past suffering through further atrocities, so that humankind can move toward a future of reconciliation, coexistence and cooperation," he added.

The Israeli Embassy in Korea declined to comment on the matter when asked by The Korea Times.

Despite Lee's posts, the opposition party criticized the president for sharing the video, calling it inappropriate.

"It is a video with an unclear source and uncertain facts. Does this effectively mean South Korea is taking Iran’s side?" wrote Congressman Song Eon-seog, leader of the People Power Party faction, on his Facebook.

"How could the president, who is indifferent to human rights in North Korea and cannot even demand an apology for the sinking of the ROKS Cheonan, verify a situation in Israel?" Song referred to the sinking of the South Korean navy frigate by North Korea in 2010.

Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok, a small opposition party, also wrote on his Facebook account. "It is not right for the South Korean president to express his anger by sharing an unverified video ... This set a precedent where the president shares video from a foreign country to denounce the country publicly."

Read: South Korea President Says Regrets Drones Sent to North

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