A picture of Cho Kuk, a minor third party leader in South Korea, has been edited to falsely portray him holding a banner calling for a boycott of Japanese imports. Posts with the doctored image have circulated in Facebook groups supporting incumbent President Yoon Suk Yeol and went on to say it showed Cho tried to drum up support for his party by stirring anti-Japanese sentiment. The original image, however, showed him holding a sign calling on voters to support his party at an election rally in April 2024.
“Kukki, not wanting to lose to the Democratic Party, attempted to instigate anti-Japanese sentiment yesterday,” read the Korean-language post shared on Facebook on July 4, referring to minor opposition party leader Cho Kuk by a nickname.
Cho, a former justice minister under former president Moon Jae-in who founded the Rebuilding Korea Party, appeared to be holding a banner calling for a boycott of Japanese goods.
The same banner was widely used during Moon’s term after South Korea and its neighbour Japan traded tit-for-tat economic blows over a dispute on compensation for wartime forced labour.
South Korean progressives have long been wary of upgrading security cooperation with Japan into an alliance (archived link).
Other posts sharing the doctored image were published in Facebook groups supporting incumbent President Yoon Suk Yeol here, here and here.
Altered sign
A reverse image search on Google found the original photograph featuring Cho holding a different placard published by Yonhap news agency on April 8 — days ahead of South Korea’s parliamentary election (archived link).
The original placard held by Cho contained multiple slogans in support of his party or criticising the Yoon administration, including “three years is too long” — referring to the remainder of the president’s term in office — and “my son and daughter, both in their 20s, also support Cho Kuk.”
Below is a screenshot comparison between the doctored image shared on Facebook (left) and the original photo captured by Yonhap news agency in April (right):
The Yonhap report said Cho held up the placard during a party rally in Gimpo city, during which he criticised the ruling party’s governance and called on voters to support his party.
AFP also found footage of the same rally aired live by local broadcaster JTBC on April 8 (archived link).
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The exact moment corresponding to the Yonhap photo could be seen at the video’s 53-minute 55-second mark when Cho made a countdown gesture with his right hand.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo published by Yonhap (left) and the corresponding section of JTBC’s footage from the same event (right):
No reference to Japan or a boycott could be seen on Cho’s sign, or on any of the other three signs he subsequently held in front of the camera at the rally.
Footage of the same rally was also broadcast live by other news organisations Ohmynews and Fact TV, both of which displayed the original sign Cho held (archived links here and here).
