Korean community in Israel concerned about diplomatic unease over president's social media post

A boy wraps himself in an Israeli flag during the Jewish holiday of Passover in Tel Aviv, Israel, April 8. Reuters-Yonhap

A post by Lee Kang-geun, head of the Korean Association in Israel, addressing President's Lee Jae Myung's social media message that drew condemnation from Israel / Captured from Lee Kang-geun's Facebook account

Members of the Korean community in Israel expressed concerns about a potential backlash against them following a social media post by President Lee Jae Myung that drew sharp criticism from Israel.

Lee Kang-geun, head of the Korean Association in Israel, posted on Facebook, Saturday, that the president’s remarks are “heating up public attention,” saying, “Has he considered the disapproving attention that Koreans living in Israel will have to endure because of this action?”

The controversy stems from a post Lee made Friday on X, formerly Twitter, addressing alleged global concerns over human rights violations and breaches of international law by Israel amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

In the post, Lee wrote, “There is no difference between this and the Japanese wartime sex slavery issue we raise, the massacre of Jews or wartime killings,” drawing comparisons to historical atrocities.

But it drew strong condemnation from Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Lee also reposted disputed footage from September 2024 allegedly showing Israeli soldiers throwing a young Palestinian off a rooftop.

The president clarified the context behind uploading the footage later on Friday.

Still, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused Lee of trivializing the Jewish Holocaust on its X account, Saturday, triggering a diplomatic dispute over the weekend.

The ministry blamed Lee for choosing “to dig up a story” from an account that it claimed was “notorious for spreading anti-Israeli disinformation and falsehood about Israel.”

It added the post was “unacceptable and warrants strong condemnation.”

Seoul responded on Saturday, expressing regret over what it described as a misunderstanding of the president’s intent, clarifying that his remarks were meant to reflect his views on universal human rights rather than target a specific country, and to reiterate Korea’s opposition to all forms of violence and anti-humanitarian acts.

Despite the clarification, criticism from the Israeli side has continued.

The head of the Korean community in Israel pointed to the practical impact of the remarks on residents, rather than the diplomatic implications.

“The incident happened two years ago, so why was it posted now?” he said. “This is really making things difficult.”