Image of protest sign ‘slamming S.Korea president and his chief rival’ is doctored

Vast protests against South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol have rocked the capital Seoul following his short-lived martial law declaration in December. But an image appearing to show a protest banner with an anti-Yoon message alongside a call for the arrest of his chief rival, opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, is manipulated. Multiple news reports featured the original picture, which showed a banner with a different message.

“The expression may be rough but this is the next task for the people. This is what our people and judicial system will do,” read a Korean-language Facebook post shared on December 15, 2024.

The post featured an image that appeared to show a protest banner that read, “Impeach the ringleader of insurrection Yoon Suk Yeol. Arrest a four-time convict, Lee Jae-myung.”

Vast protests against Yoon, with smaller rallies supporting him, have rocked Seoul since his short-lived December 3 martial law decree. The country’s parliament voted to suspend him from office on December 14 (archived link).

Yoon is also being investigated for insurrection and abuse of power allegations. The Constitutional Court commenced proceedings against him and has about six months to determine whether to uphold his impeachment (archived link).

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, lost to Yoon by the narrowest vote margin in South Korea’s electoral history in the 2022 election. Analysts say he is the clear frontrunner for the presidency.

Records from the National Election Commission showed Lee had three criminal convictions for which he was fined more than one million won (690 dollars) — for assisting a news producer who impersonated a prosecutor during a phone interview in 2003, and for drink driving and damaging public property in 2004 (archived links here and here).

In November 2024, Lee was also handed a suspended jail sentence for violating election laws. If it is upheld on appeal, Lee will be stripped of his parliamentary seat and prohibited from running for public office for the next five years (archived link).

Although “Impeach insurrection ringleader Yoon Suk Yeol” and “Arrest Lee Jae-myung” were slogans commonly chanted at rival rallies, it is highly unlikely for either side to call for both.

Similar posts sharing the image purportedly showing a protest banner with both messages were shared on social media site X as well as on South Korean online forums such as Arca.live, DC Inside and FM Korea.

Some social media users appeared to believe the image was genuine.

“I don’t understand what kind of contradictory idea this is,” one user wrote. “Those calling for impeaching Yoon Suk Yeol and beating up Lee Jae-myung are the worst kind of people.”

Another said, “I hope that people, who may not be flawless but are at least at an average level, will run,” referring to a potential snap election expected within eight months if the constitutional court upholds Yoon’s impeachment.

Doctored image

A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found the original image circulated online since December 7 (archived link).

The banner in the original image shows a different phrase than the one in the altered image: “The National Stay-at-Home Coalition. Please just let us lie down. Should we really get up and leave home?”

The photo was also featured in Korean-language news reports in Kyunghyang Shinmun and Chosun Ilbo (archived links here and here).

Reporting on massive protests ahead of an impeachment vote against Yoon outside parliament on December 7, Kyunghyang Shinmun reported the banners carrying catchy, witty yet piercing messages indicated “ordinary citizens had courageously stepped forward” to voice their dissent.

Another photo of the same banner was published by Ohmynews, which interviewed its creator Ji Seung-ho (archived link). The 25-year-old told the local online news outlet that he normally preferred to stay home and wanted to convey his “anger” at the circumstances that compelled him to leave home to hit the streets through the banner.

Yoon escaped impeachment on that day after lawmakers from his ruling party boycotted a vote (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison between the altered image shared on Facebook (left) and the original image published by Kyunghyang Shinmun (right):

Yoon’s martial law declaration has spurred a wave of misinformation debunked by AFP.

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