Overview
- President Lee Jae Myung shared the video on Friday and said wartime killings were no different from the Holocaust and Korea’s comfort women, asking what steps were taken if the footage was true.
- Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the remarks as a trivialization of the Holocaust and said Lee amplified an old story from a disinformation-prone account that miscast the clip as current.
- The video dates to September 2024 from Qabatiya in the West Bank and shows soldiers pushing an apparently lifeless Palestinian body off a roof, which the IDF called a serious incident under review at the time.
- Lee later noted the 2024 timing and stressed respect for international humanitarian law, while South Korea’s foreign ministry said Israel misunderstood his intent and expressed condolences for Holocaust victims.
- Analysts say Seoul’s stance may reflect energy pressures, citing at least 26 South Korean tankers stuck near the Strait of Hormuz and tensions with Iran that could shape how Korea signals on Israel.