Fabricated Kim Jong Un quote used in false posts about South Korean doctors' strike
- Published on March 5, 2024 at 10:41
- 4 min read
- By SHIM Kyu-Seok, AFP South Korea
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The claim was shared in a Facebook post here on February 23, 2024.
It featured what appeared to be two screenshots from television news reports, one of North Korea's Kim Jong Un and the other of Kim Taek-woo, interim head of South Korea's largest medical association, the KMA.
A chyron under the photo of the North Korean leader reads: "We regard this as a direct challenge and strongly warn that we may enter into action that will be difficult to handle."
This quote appears to mirror a comment from the KMA interim head, which reads: "If any doctor is penalised with regards to their licences in this situation, we will regard this as a direct challenge against doctors and strongly warn that we may enter into action that will be difficult to handle."
The post's Korean-language caption questioned why the comments were so similar.
The claim circulated as thousands of South Korean doctors resigned as part of an escalating standoff with the government over its plans to sharply increase medical school admissions in the face of shortages and a rapidly ageing society.
Official figures show more than 10,000 junior doctors -- around 80 percent of the trainee workforce -- resigned, with the mass work stoppage resulting in cancellations and postponements of surgeries, as well as patients being turned away from emergency rooms.
The striking trainees defied a February 29 government deadline for them to return to work or face legal action, and the government said on March 5 it would start notifying striking professionals that their medical licences would be suspended.
Similar false posts were shared on Facebook here, as well as on South Korean forums here and here.
Comments on the posts indicated users believed the two men had made similar comments.
"Looks like the KMA was coached about what to say," one user wrote.
"The comments are on the level of copy-and-paste," another said. "South Korea’s doctor’s association is paying homage to North Korea’s leader."
Although the news image featuring the KMA interim chief's comments is from a genuine broadcast, the one showing Kim Jong Un and his purported comments was fabricated.
Fabricated report
A Google reverse image search found the photo of Kim Jong Un corresponds to one released by North Korean state media KCNA on September 22, 2017 and published by various international news outlets, including South Korea's Yonhap News Agency here (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the doctored image shared in the false posts (left) and the photo released by KCNA (right):
The photo was accompanied by a public statement in response to Trump's speech at the UN that year, in which the former US president threatened to "totally destroy North Korea" and branded Kim "Rocket Man".
Kim's photo and statement was also widely published by international media outlets at the time, including by US broadcaster NBC News and Britain's Channel 4 (archived links here and here).
Kim's fiery statement in response called Trump "mentally deranged" and a "dotard" -- an obscure term for a senile old person -- in an escalation of Pyongyang's rhetoric amid heightened tensions with Washington.
But no part of the statement, released by KCNA in both English and Korean, matches the chyron seen in the fabricated news report (archived links here and here).
The fabricated news image used in the false posts features chyrons that appear to match those used by South Korean broadcaster MBN, but keyword searches on its website found the genuine 2017 report featured captions that matched Kim's real statement (archived link).
Genuine doctors' group statement
The image of KMA interim chief Kim Taek-woo is from a genuine report published by South Korean broadcaster MBN on February 18, 2024 (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the image used in the false posts (left) and the MBN report (right):
Kim Taek-woo's comments were made in response to warnings by the South Korean government it may cancel protesting doctors' medical licences if they did not return to work.
Other South Korean news reports featured his statement here, here and here (archived links here, here and here).
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