Lee Jae-myung, the president, wrote on the 12th on X (formerly Twitter), "Those who damage the national interest for private gain are called traitors," adding, "This too is an abnormality we must normalize." The remark appears to reflect criticism from the People Power Party and others that this was a social media fiasco after the president on the 10th shared a video claiming some Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers dropped a Palestinian corpse from a roof.
In a post on X at 9:44 a.m. that day, the president wrote, "There are many who, while committing acts of treachery, do not realize that harming the national interest for private gain is wrong," adding, "Or perhaps they know and carry it out anyway." He continued, "Even in politics and the media, whose mission is to pursue the public interest including the national interest, acts of treachery openly occur."
The president said, "This too is a national task, the normalization of an abnormality, that we must teach and overcome together." He went on, "Each nation's sovereignty and universal human rights must be respected, and aggressive war is denied. That is the spirit of our Constitution and international common sense."
The president said, "Empathy applies not only to individuals but also to relations between states," adding, "Another person's life and property are as precious as my own life and property."
Earlier, on the 10th, Lee Jae-myung, the president, shared a video claiming some IDF soldiers dropped a Palestinian from a roof, saying, "The forced mobilization of comfort women that we take issue with, the massacre of Jews, and killings during war are no different."
When it was confirmed that the video was not shot after the Middle East crisis but two years ago, the president posted again the same day, saying, "International humanitarian law must be observed under any circumstances."
Afterward, on the 11th, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on X, "The president made remarks belittling the Holocaust ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day," adding, "This is unacceptable and deserves strong condemnation."
In response, the president wrote again on X, "It is disappointing that there is not even a moment's reflection on the criticism from people around the world who suffer and struggle due to constant anti-human-rights and anti-international-law actions."
From the opposition, there has been daily criticism that the president made a rash remark that could cause an unnecessary diplomatic problem. Kim Ki-hyun of the People Power Party wrote on Facebook on the 10th, "The president's extremely careless 'meddlesome SNS risk' is getting worse," adding, "If a mistake was made, it must be corrected; if one tries to cover a mistake with a bigger mistake out of obstinacy, it will bring great trouble."
Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun also said, "The president should stop emotion-laden social media politics and return to the basics of diplomacy." Chief spokesperson Choi Bo-yoon of the People Power Party said in a commentary on the 12th, "The president's irresponsible social media conduct has ultimately triggered a 'diplomatic fiasco,'" adding, "Even after damaging the credibility of South Korea's diplomacy, he is going so far as to talk about being 'disappointed' with the other country."