Israel lashes out at South Korean president for raising concerns about abuse of Palestinians

Israel has lashed out at South Korean President Lee Jae Myung after he raised concerns over the torture and abuse of Palestinian children and accused Tel Aviv of failing to "reflect" on rights violations by its forces.

Israel has decried the president for amplifying what it claimed was social media "disinformation".

The South Korean leader aroused the anger of Israel's foreign ministry this week with his comments on a social media video with a caption saying that 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.

The video has been widely shared on social media, and is reminiscent of other buses carried out by Israeli forces against Palestinians, which have intensified following the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023.

The video showed an incident captured by AFPTV in the occupied West Bank in September 2024, where an Israeli soldier using his foot to push the body of a dead adult man off a roof.

이게 사실인지, 사실이라면 어떤 조치가 있었는지 알아봐야겠습니다.a

우리가 문제삼는 위안부 강제, 유태인 학살이나 전시 살해는 다를 바가 없습니다. https://t.co/owqj9Rg1lk

— 이재명 (@Jaemyung_Lee) April 9, 2026

The shocking footage caused outrage around the world, while reports state that three Palestinians were thrown from the roof on the same day. 

Since then, Israeli forces have gone on to commit more horrific abuses, including the torture of an eighteen month old Palestinian child in order to force his father to give information.

Son Sol, a South Korean MP from the Progressive Party said on the social media platform X that Lee's original post was referring to this incident.

In 2024 the White House called the footage shared by Lee "deeply disturbing" and said it had demanded an explanation from Israel amid its intensifying raids on the West Bank. The Palestinian ministry of foreign affairs called the incident a "crime".

Israel's foreign ministry claimed on Saturday that the incident was already "investigated and addressed" while continuing to attack Lee.

"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," it said on social media

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

South Korea's foreign ministry commented on the post, trying to defuse the issue, saying that Lee's post 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."

The post went on to say: "It makes me deeply uncomfortable to watch this immense pain and national hardship suddenly befalling our innocent citizens out of the blue...for the sake of universal human rights and the national interests of the Republic of Korea, I must work harder to find things I can do".

Israel's dismissal of South Korea's concerns has also triggered backlash.

Trita Parsi, a well-known Iranian-Swedish political analyst weighed in on the row. 

"The South Korean president challenges Israel's foreign minister directly and openly on Twitter. Few European leaders have dared to do this, despite their constant preaching about International Law," Parsi said in a post on X. 

Son Sol called the Israeli response "shameless impudence" while going on to denounce Israel's deadly attacks on Gaza, which continues despite a ceasefire agreed last October.

"The acts currently being perpetrated by Israel in the Gaza Strip constitute ‘genocide (mass slaughter),’ which is strictly prohibited under international law, and are clear crimes against humanity. The war criminal state that must immediately halt the war and massacre and face the stern judgment of the international community is none other than Israel," she said on X.

"Even at this very moment, children in Gaza, Palestine, are collapsing. As a responsible member of the international community, the Republic of Korea has a duty to oppose the massacre and call for peace. The president’s message is the ‘minimum conscience’ that must be upheld as a human being," she added.

South Korea, a key ally of Israel's biggest international backer, the United States, has generally kept its distance from issues in the Middle East. However, outrage has been growing worldwide against Israel's actions against Palestinians which are now increasingly being recognised as ethnic cleansing and genocide.

Agencies contributed to this report.