President Lee Jae Myung on Friday reposted a video clip on X allegedly showing Israeli soldiers dropping the body of a Palestinian child from a rooftop, saying that wartime homicide was no different from atrocities such as the Holocaust and sexual enslavement of women by the Japanese Empire during WWII.
The original X post by user Jvnior, who claims to be a Muslim Palestinian, claims the armed individuals seen in the video are Israeli soldiers and that the victim is a Palestinian child who was tortured by them.
"If this (the original X post) is true, it must be looked into as to what measures have to be taken," Lee wrote.
"Wartime homicide is no different from matters that we take issue with, such as the forced (enslavement of) comfort women, and the massacre of Jewish people."
But in a later clarification, Lee commented Friday that the short clip was filmed in September 2024 and the body being thrown off was of a dead person, adding that Israeli authorities had undergone relevant investigations into the matter and taken measures, without further elaborating.
"Under any circumstances, the international humanitarian law must be observed, and human dignity must be recognized as a value that are non-negotiable," Lee said in his next X post.
"The victim was a corpse, not a living person, but such a treatment even for a corpse is a violation of international law."
Lee also wrote, "The countless tragedies in the past history have taught us that human rights must be greatly cherished. We must not repeat the horrific tragedies based on lessons learned from painful wounds."
In the meantime, the main opposition People Power Party's floor leader Rep. Song Eon-seog claimed on his Facebook that Lee's invocation of human rights is selective.
"(Lee) is not interested in human rights issues in North Korea. He cannot call for (North Korea's) apology over the sinking of South Korean warship Cheonan (in 2010), so how is he trying the figure out the situation in Israel, a faraway country?" Song wrote.
Song also warned the X post could give the world the impression that South Korea might be taking sides with Iran amid the Middle East conflict.
Since the Israel-Hamas war began in October 2023, there have been claims of torture and mistreatment of Palestinians by the Israeli military, including those raised by the Committee Against Torture, a United Nations body.
Daniel Meron, permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations, has denied the systematic ill-treatment of Palestinians and claimed these cases were anomalies. He instead claimed that Israel has been committed to its obligations to protect civilians, while accusing Palestinians in Gaza of portraying incorrect information as fact.
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