President underscores human rights amid controversy over Holocaust remark

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung stressed the importance of universal human rights while speaking about the war in the Middle East Tuesday, amid a controversy over his social media post that Israel perceived as trivializing the Holocaust.

His reiteration comes as the controversy continues, drawing strong backlash from Israel and criticism from the opposition bloc, which described his post as “a diplomatic blunder” that goes against “national interest.”

In a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Lee said, “I urge the countries involved in (the Middle East) war to take courageous steps toward peace that the world so earnestly desires, based on the principles of universal human rights protection and the lessons of history.”

Lee did not refer to Israel at all, instead framing his remarks in reference to the economic fallout for Korea from the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, with peace talks breaking off last weekend.

His comments follow the controversy, which started on Friday when he shared a social media post with a video appearing to show Israeli soldiers abusing a young Palestinian. He compared the act to the Holocaust as well as Japan's wartime sex slavery of Korean women, in an implicit reference to Israel’s alleged violation of human rights and international law in the Middle East.

The president’s post led to strong condemnation from Israel’s foreign ministry the next day for what it viewed as trivializing the Holocaust. This was followed by another post from Lee, writing, “It is regrettable that [Israel is] not paying attention to the global criticism from people who have suffered and struggled due to continuous anti-human rights and anti-international law acts.”

Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, said that the president is “reconfirming his intention and the validity of his disputed social media message concerning Israel.”

“The core of the president’s social media message was universal human rights, while he used the Holocaust, which Israel is extremely sensitive to, as an example,” Shin said.

“I believe Lee’s comments at the Cabinet meeting were a way of emphasizing the value of human rights and indirectly clearing up misunderstandings.”

Meanwhile, the president has been ratcheting up rhetoric against opposition parties and some media outlets that accused him of causing a diplomatic dispute with Israel.

Some argued that the row could even hinder Korea-U.S. ties, given the influence of the Israel lobby in the United States across politics, the economy and other fields.

“Those who only play casual board games can also give advice to a professional go player, but they should not overturn the game board,” the president wrote on X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday. His message was widely interpreted as referring to the opposition party’s criticism as politically motivated and accusing it of undermining Korea's ties with Israel.

On Sunday, he also posted on X that “those who harm the national interest for personal gain are called traitors ... Such acts are witnessed in politics as well as the media, where the duty is to serve the public good.”