The South Korean president is conducting quote diplomacy

“This is no different from comfort women or the Holocaust,” she wrote. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung On Channel X last week, citing a post containing a video of IDF soldiers throwing a body from a rooftop in Gaza.

The president’s post sparked an online firestorm for thousands of different reasons, not the least of which was that the video in question was misleadingly labeled. the Quoted post It reads, “Live footage: IDF soldiers torture a Palestinian child and throw him from a roof.” The video actually dates from September 2024, and depicts Israeli soldiers kicking, pulling, and eventually throwing a limp body from a rooftop. The incident – which involved at least four bodies – was filmed from multiple angles Associated PressWhich identified the bodies as “apparently lifeless.” Israel claimed that the bodies were those of gunmen. Under international law, the bodies of enemy combatants must be treated with dignity; Accordingly, Israel opened an investigation into the incident at the time.

As far as fact-checking goes, it’s not particularly exculpatory. However, perhaps the head of a sovereign state should not wander into random accounts tweeting vague, unverified quotes and posts. But tweet diplomacy has gradually become par for the course even outside the murky confines of the White House.

To put it precisely, Lee Jae Myung really loves publishing. It may be tempting to dismiss his online feud with the state of Israel as a brief, one-off dispute by a social media junkie. that The opening sounds cumbersome He noted that Lee had made his way to Diplomatic error with Cambodia Earlier this year, he called for a “reform” to how the president’s social media account is currently managed. Presumably they want the responsible staff to post on his behalf. But before Lee Jae-myung became president, he achieved international fame Live broadcast of the same Jumping the fence surrounding the National Assembly building in order to vote withholding Declaration of martial law; Impulsive social media uses both give and take.

Lee ended up posting follow-up posts explaining that the video was old, but he refused to leave it there. He added: “I am disappointed that Israel refuses to think about the global suffering caused by its continued violations of human rights and international law.” He said. He also reposted it Long criticism of Israel Written by a progressive South Korean activist.

Israel took specific crime When mentioning the Holocaust, however Apparently missed The most downloaded simile in Lee Jae-myung’s original post – pointing to Systematic sexual assault Korean women under Japanese colonial occupation. The issue of comfort women – Japanese denials, demands for apologies, and the question of adequate compensation – has shadowed relations between South Korea and Japan for decades. For Koreans, this is perhaps the most prominent atrocity committed by colonial Japan, and is a symbol of A large-scale orchestrated attempt To destroy everything it means to be Korean.

A day later, the Korean Foreign Ministry expressed “regret” over the “misunderstanding” (of both Koreas). Yonhap); A few days after that, Jerusalem Post It stated that the “dispute” had been “resolved.” But as Blue ceiling Institutional politicians from Lee’s liberal party point out He came out of the woodwork For several days to support him throughout the diplomatic fire. Lee Jae-myung’s post on X drew a clear parallel between Japan’s continued denial of atrocities committed during the occupation and Israel’s actions in Palestine, and Institutional voices He allowed the analogy. Resisting Japanese occupation is central to what it means to be Korean in the modern era; It is not easy to draw this connection between Palestine and Korea, especially since it is South Korea at the present time It does not even recognize Palestine as a state.

It may have started out as a slightly questionable quote, but days later, the head of the ruling Liberal Party hailed the issue as a “milestone in the history of South Korean diplomacy,” describing Korea’s foreign policy as one of “world peace and human dignity.” Other party members It is indicated more clearly Universal human rights and compliance with international law. These politicians frame the Unilateral retrieval of American missiles From South Korean territory for use in the Middle East. About a decade ago, the mere presence of these missiles on the peninsula sparked outrage Chinese boycott It wreaked havoc on the South Korean economy, but that was only the price of being one of America’s closest allies.

However, a few years of Donald Trump make a difference, and the old world order is dead. South Korea is It is no longer ride or die for us; NATO and other alliances that once ensured American hegemony are all on the bubble. America is becoming increasingly hostile to it International legal system It helped birth in Nuremberg. like The disappearance of Chinese hawks in the US State DepartmentSo do many of the reasons why South Korea’s relations with China became sour in the first place. When the American century recedes into history, the countries of the former American bloc will all try to find their own way, and South Korea will be no exception.

Lee Jae-myung’s online fire war is just one of the many echoes of a real war. At first glance, redefining South Korean diplomacy with a position launched from the hip might be almost Trumpian. But despite the chaotic delivery, Lee sets off on a coherent, and perhaps somewhat predictable, trajectory. After all, we should not consider the emphasis on international law and human rights to be interesting. This is a condemnation of the entire world.