Criticism of President Yoon in Photo of Korea-Japan Summit Honor Guard Review
"Misleading Facts Based on Specific Angle" AFP Fact-Check
A 'fake news' label was attached to a Facebook post by former Blue House Protocol Secretary Tak Hyun-min, who criticized President Yoon Suk-yeol for bowing to the Japanese flag during a meeting between the South Korean and Japanese leaders.
On the 16th at 5:53 p.m., former Secretary Tak posted a photo of President Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reviewing the honor guard, criticizing, "I don't know how to view a Korean president who does not show respect to his own national anthem but bows deeply to the other country's flag, and I don't understand how this can be tolerated."
A Facebook post by former Blue House Protocol Secretary Tak Hyun-min, who criticized President Yoon Suk-yeol for bowing to the Japanese flag, has been marked as containing "some false information." [Photo by Tak, former Secretary's Facebook capture]
This photo was a screenshot of the broadcast capturing the moment when President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida bowed to both countries' flags. At that moment, it appeared as if President Yoon was bowing only to the Japanese flag without the Taegukgi (South Korean flag).
The photo was shared among Facebook users, leading to criticism of President Yoon. One user targeted President Yoon, saying, "I was curious about how he would behave toward the Japanese flag and Kimigayo, and as expected," adding, "It is standard protocol to salute only one's own flag during the honor guard review."
However, both countries' flags were displayed side by side at the scene, and netizens criticized the post, saying, "This is factually incorrect; do not incite with devilish editing."
In response, former Secretary Tak edited the post 23 minutes later, adding the sentence, "Not showing respect to the national anthem is not a one-time occurrence, but during the honor guard review, each leader salutes their own flag, yet he salutes the Taegukgi and then bows again to salute the Japanese flag... absurd."
The appearance of the South Korean and Japanese leaders showing respect to each other's national flags. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Meanwhile, Facebook inserted a warning label under this post stating, "Partly false information. Verified by independent fact-checking organizations." This means Facebook itself judged the post's falsity.
Since 2016, Facebook has been working to identify fake news through the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), which includes global media outlets such as AFP.
Regarding this fact-check, AFP corrected the misinformation, stating, "This is a misleading fact based on a photo taken from a specific angle," and clarified, "The South Korean and Japanese leaders paid proper respects to both countries' flags before reviewing the honor guard."
This post was also mentioned as a fact-check case on AFP's website. It included comments on the post such as, "I'm so angry. (President Yoon) must think Japan is his hometown. Otherwise, why would he salute the Japanese flag?"
Currently, the post is not visible on former Secretary Tak's Facebook. He said in another post, "I deleted the original post because it was all already known information anyway."
He explained, "They say it is a 'misleading fact based on a photo taken from a specific angle,' but I only wrote that President Yoon saluted the Japanese flag," adding, "There has never been a case where a visiting country's president saluted their own flag and then jointly saluted with the Japanese prime minister."
He continued, "I believe the implication and message conveyed by a photo of the South Korean president saluting the Japanese flag or both leaders saluting side by side to the Japanese flag and the Taegukgi are inappropriate," emphasizing, "Even if there was some agreement between the two countries, broadcasting a scene of the president saluting the Japanese flag is not appropriate."
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