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President Lee likens video of Israeli soldiers abusing Palestinian child's corpse to comfort women, Holocaust

Published: 10 Apr. 2026, 17:23

President Lee Jae Myung's X post, which shared a video seemingly showing Israeli soldiers abusing a corpse, on April 10 [SCREEN CAPTURE]

President Lee Jae Myung on Friday stressed the importance of human rights after sharing a clip on social media that seemingly showed Israeli soldiers abusing a Palestinian child's corpse, likening the scene to Japanese wartime sexual slavery and the Holocaust.

Lee said that “international humanitarian law must be upheld under all circumstances” in his post on X.

Lee shared a video on Friday morning with a caption that reads, “LIVE FOOTAGE: IDF soldiers tortured a Palestinian kid and threw him off a roof.” IDF is the acronym for the Israel Defense Forces, the Israeli military. In the footage, three men who appear to be Israeli soldiers kick and push a person off a building rooftop.

While noting a necessity to verify the clip in his earlier post, he added that “there is no difference between the wartime killings we have condemned — such as comfort women or the Holocaust — and this.”

"Comfort women" is a euphemism for victims of imperial Japan's sexual slavery during World War II.

Later that day, Lee emphasized the universal values of international humanitarian law and human rights in a separate post.

“The video depicts a real incident that happened in September 2024, which the White House described as ‘deeply disturbing,’” Lee said.

“U.S. officials, including John Kirby, even called it ‘abhorrent and egregious,’” Lee said. “It was also reported that Israel carried out an investigation and took measures.”

Kirby, the White House National Security Council spokesman, made the remarks in September 2024.

President Lee Jae Myung's shares his comments on X about a 2024 video, which reportedly shows Israeli soldiers abusing a corpse, on April 10 [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The video was posted by a user identified by the handle “Jvnior,” who is reportedly a Palestinian content creator known for sharing on-the-ground updates from the Gaza Strip.

The footage was filmed in September 2024. In the same month, the IDF stated that what was recorded constitutes “a serious incident” which did not “conform” to its values.

President Lee said it is “a small relief, if any, that the victim was not a living person but a corpse.” However, he clarified that treating a dead body still violates international law.

“The countless tragedies in history have taught us that human rights are paramount,” Lee said. “We must not repeat these harrowing lessons, etched in painful scars, through recurring atrocities.”

Lee noted that humanity could move toward a future of coexistence built on reconciliation and cooperation. “Human rights are the last bastion and a value that cannot be exchanged for anything in any place and for any reason,” Lee said.

However, Lee’s post drew backlash from the rival People Power Party (PPP).

PPP floor leader Song Eon-seog sarcastically asked, “Was the president’s Facebook account hacked?”

“The source and facts of the video are unclear — does this mean South Korea is siding with Iran in a wartime situation? How could the president, who is indifferent to human rights in North Korea and cannot even demand an apology for the sinking of the ROKS Cheonan, verify a situation in Israel?” Song said.

The ROKS Cheonan was a South Korean warship that sank in 2010. A South Korean-led investigation concluded that the ship was torpedoed by a North Korean submarine.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]