Most official photos show South Korean president, not just the first lady

This article is more than one year old.
Published on May 10, 2023 at 04:12
5 min read
By Emo TOURE, AFP South Korea

Social media posts shared in South Korea have misleadingly suggested that President Yoon Suk Yeol was overshadowed by his wife in "all the photos" released by the presidential office of their recent visits to the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland and within South Korea. But a review of all the official photos from these events found Yoon appeared in most of them.

"The most difficult task. Find the president who is hidden behind his wife. The president Is invisible from all the photos. It makes me more angry that the presidential office took photos this way and published them," reads a Korean-language post shared here on Instiz, an online forum, on April 22, 2023.

The post was shared alongside four photos of South Korean First Lady Kim Keon-hee, with her husband, President Yoon Suk Yeol, barely visible.

Kim's high profile has been a subject of continuous controversy in South Korea, where critics have accused her of taking the spotlight away from the president or behaving as if she were his political equal (archived link).

AFP has previously debunked misinformation about the first lady that she fell asleep during a speech, mishandled museum artefacts, and violated protocol by wearing gloves (archived links here, here and here).

Screenshot of the misleading Instiz post, captured on May 8, 2023

The same photos were also shared on Naver blog, while posts on Facebook and another online forum eToLAND used one of the photos.

Comments on the posts indicate some users were misled.

"This is no different than Kim stealing the president's identity," one said.

"She is always in the spotlight!" another commented.

While Kim is the focus of the photos used in these posts, a review of the presidential office's photo archives shows most official photos from the same events feature Yoon.

Louvre Abu Dhabi

A reverse image search on Google of the photo showing Kim looking at a sculpture led to a slideshow published on January 16, 2023 by South Korea's presidential office (archived link).

"South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee visit the Louvre Abu Dhabi, an annex of the French Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday (local time) to view the museum's art collection," reads the photo's caption.

The photo is just one of two -- out of 13 photos -- where the first lady is the sole focus. Yoon can be clearly seen in 10 of the photos, including one where he is pictured on his own.

Screenshot of the slideshow posted by the presidential office, captured on May 8, 2023

Cheonan sailors graves

The photo of Kim holding hands with a person wearing sunglasses can be found in another slideshow published by the presidential office on March 24, 2023 (archived link).

"President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee inspect the mausoleum of the 46 soldiers of the Cheonan at the National Cemetery of Daejeon in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, South Korea, on the 24th," reads the photo's caption.

It is one of four photos in the slideshow that focus only on the first lady; Yoon can be seen in the other 11 photos.

Screenshot of the slideshow posted by the presidential office, captured on May 8, 2023

Dinner in Switzerland

The photo of the first lady shaking hands with a woman wearing red was published in a slideshow on January 17, 2023 (archived link).

Its caption reads, "President Yoon Seok-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee exchange greetings with attendees at a dinner meeting for Koreans held at a hotel in downtown Zurich, Switzerland on the 17th (local time)".

Four of the 17 photos released by the office focus exclusively on the first lady, while President Yoon can be seen -- either on his own or beside the first lady -- in the others.

Screenshot of the slideshow released by the presidential office, captured on May 8, 2023

Naval Academy graduation ceremony

The final photo of the first lady, showing her shaking hands with an officer, was published by the presidential office on March 10, 2023 as part of a 25 photo slideshow (archived link).

"President Yoon Seok Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee watch the division of new officers at the 77th graduation and commissioning ceremony held at the Naval Academy in Jinhae-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do on the 10th", reads the photo's caption.

In the photo, the first lady partially obscures Yoon, who is also shaking hands with an officer. A similar photo shows Kim shaking hands with another officer, as Yoon looks on.

But only two of the photos show Kim on her own -- both while she is posing for selfies with graduates. The president, meanwhile, is pictured on his own in 12 photos and besides the first lady in the rest.

Screenshot of the slideshow posted by the presidential office, captured on May 8, 2023

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