False posts claim 'Chinese man burns Korean flag' after Japan, South Korea thaw ties

"Chinese man setting a South Korean flag on fire during a rally opposing President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to Japan," reads the Korean-language claim shared here on Naver Band on March 23, 2023.

The accompanying image shows a person, whose face has been blurred out, holding a burning Korean flag, with superimposed Korean-language text that reads: "Chinese man burning the flag to oppose an alliance between South Korea and Japan."

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Screenshot of the misleading claim shared on Naver Band. Captured March 27, 2023.

The claim and the photo began to circulate online after Yoon's meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on March 16, in which the two leaders, driven by regional threats including North Korea and China, agreed to mend relations and end tit-for-tat measures restricting bilateral trade.

Chinese state media Global Times published editorials here and here criticising the warming ties, which South Korean news reports here and here said Beijing regarded as a containment measure by the US and its allies.

The same photo was shared alongside similar false claims on Naver Band on Facebook on here and here.

Rallies protesting the South Korea-Japan summit took place across Seoul on March 18, but there were no reports of flag-burning at the demonstrations.

The image in fact shows a South Korean protester torching the flag during a rally in April 2015 in opposition to the government's response to the sinking of the Sewol ferry.

Old photo

A reverse image search on Google found the corresponding photo published in a report by News1, a South Korean news agency, on November 23, 2015.

The caption of the photo reads: "A participant in a rally on the one year anniversary of the Sewol disaster burns the Taeguki [South Korean flag] as protesters clashed with police in Gwanghwamun Square on the afternoon of April 18. 2015.4.18."

More than 300 people died in the Sewol ferry sinking in 2014, most of them high school students on an organised trip, in one of South Korea's deadliest maritime disasters. The incident exposed serious shortcomings in safety regulations, emergency response, and government accountability, leading to widespread public outrage and significant reforms in the country.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo shared in the misleading post (left) and the original photo published by News1 (right):

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Screenshot comparison of the photo shared in the misleading post (left) and the original photo published by News1 (right).

News1 identified the man in the photo as a 23-year-old surnamed Kim who was charged by prosecutors with violating the country's law on the desecration of its national flag despite his claims that he did not intend to insult the country or the flag.

During an interview with a local online media in 2015, Kim described himself as a "South Korean man in [his] 20s".

Other photos of Kim burning the flag at the protest captured from similar angles were published in local news reports here, here and here.

Court statement

Kim was eventually acquitted of flag desecration by the Supreme Court but was convicted on separate charges related to damaging a police bus during a protest.

He later filed a case with the Constitutional Court, arguing the unconstitutionality of the flag desecration charge.

The court narrowly upheld the law's constitutionality, but agreed the charge against Kim was excessive.

The court's statement, available on its official website, identifies Kim as a South Korean citizen and does not mention China.

AFP has debunked a flurry of misinformation following Yoon's visit to Japan, including a misleading claim that Yoon saluted the Japanese flag in Tokyo and another claim that a Japanese newspaper referred to him in a disrespectful manner.