South Korean media mispresent satirical article as genuine interview with ex-national team coach

"What do you mean? Klinsmann says he has worked from home in his native Germany 'because there were almost no flights from LA to Pyongyang'", reads the headline of an article published by a South Korean online media outlet called My Daily on February 21.

The article claims Klinsmann made "absurd" remarks in a February 20 interview with German newspaper Taz.

"When asked why he was rarely seen in Korea, Klinsmann said: 'It's not that I have never been, but there are just extremely few flights from Los Angeles to Pyongyang'", it states.

My Daily goes on to report that when the interviewer pointed out the Korean peninsula is divided into two countries and he was the coach for the South, Klinsmann responded, "As a German, I am familiar with divided countries".

The article has garnered nearly 900 "angry" emojis from readers, with some asking for a follow-up report.

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Screenshot of the My Daily article, taken on February 21

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Screenshot of a Segye Ilbo article, taken on February 21

The false claim surfaced after Klinsmann was sacked as coach of South Korea's national football team following a humiliating defeat to Jordan in the semi-finals of the Asian Cup in February 2024.

South Korean media have also reported that Klinsmann has consistently been criticised for spending too much time overseas as one of the reasons for his dismissal (archived link).

Similar news articles were also published by other South Korean outlets such as Segye Ilbo, Wikitree and Money Today, some of which were later removed. All of them cited Taz as the source.

The claim was also shared on social media site X here, here, here and here, as well as on Facebook and South Korean online forums Ruliweb, Ppompu, Clien and Ordinalee.

The supposed interview, however, is not genuine and was originally published as a joke by the German newspaper.

'AI-generated interview'

Taz published the article in its satire and humour section "Die Wahrheit" -- meaning "the truth" in English -- days after Klinsmann's sacking as South Korea's coach (archived link).

Titled "Never again Pyongyang," the article claims it is Klinsmann's "first media interview" after his dismissal.

The article includes other details such as Klinsmann saying he recently met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, for which there is no actual record.

A disclaimer next to the article states in German: "Die Wahrheit is the only satire and humour section of a daily newspaper worldwide".

When asked about the article, Michael Ringel -- the editor for the section in Taz where the satirical article was published -- directed AFP to the newspaper's website that shows a similar description (archived link).

Cornelius Oettle, the satirist credited as the author of the article, also told AFP he did not interview Klinsmann for the article.

"I wasn't able to get in touch with him", he stated in a February 22 email, explaining why he resorted to using AI to generate the remarks.

"AI has the ability to put itself in the shoes of celebrities and answer instead of you, which is certainly a blessing for modern interviews because it saved me and Jurgen Klinsmann a lot of time," he said.

He jokingly added he had a "mental connection" with Klinsmann, "but not a telephone one".

In a post on Instagram on February 16, Klinsmann called his stint as South Korea coach "an incredible journey" and thanked his players (archived link). 

AFP did not find any public remarks he made that closely resemble those in the satire article.