Posts target S. Korea opposition leader with manipulated video of him 'spitting out food'

Published on March 14, 2024 at 04:56
3 min read
By SHIM Kyu-Seok, AFP South Korea

As South Korea geared up for a crucial election in April, a manipulated video surfaced online that appeared to show opposition leader Lee Jae-myung spitting out food at a restaurant. Facebook groups supporting President Yoon Suk Yeol shared the footage in posts branding the politician "disgusting". The original video in fact shows Lee eating a lettuce wrap -- not spitting it out -- and was edited to play in reverse.

The three-second clip appearing to show Lee spitting out a lettuce wrap was shared on Facebook on March 11, 2024.

Korean-language text overlaid on the clip says: "Disgusting man, is he cleaning his teeth with lettuce?"

Lee is leader of South Korea's largest opposition Democratic Party, which is challenging Yoon's bid to win back a parliamentary majority in the April 10 election (archived link).

Screenshot of a Facebook post that shared the manipulated video, taken on March 12, 2024

The clip was shared in various Facebook groups expressing support for Yoon, such as here, here and here.

Comments on the posts mocked Lee for what many users regarded as a "disgusting act".

"Why is he spitting out something he put in his mouth?" one user wrote. "It's revolting".

Another chimed in: "This is the first time I've seen someone wash their mouth with lettuce."

However, the clip was edited to play in reverse. The original video showed Lee simply eating a lettuce wrap.

Original footage

South Korean politicians often engage in so-called eating performances in public in a bid to demonstrate their closeness to ordinary voters.

A keyword search on YouTube for the terms "Lee Jae-myung" and "mukbang" -- the Korean word for eating shows -- found the original video published by local news organisation OhmyTV on March 4, 2024 (archived link).

The video shows Lee having lunch consisting of pig's feet and lettuce -- usually eaten together as a wrap.

OhmyTV said Lee was dining at a restaurant in Seoul's Jongno district, where he was campaigning on behalf of his party's candidate in the area.

The edited clip shared on social media was taken from the 08:45 mark of the original video, in which Lee simply puts the lettuce wrap into his mouth.

The clip is part of a longer 11-minute video where Lee is seen having lunch with his party's candidate, Kwak Sang-eon and Kwak's wife Roh Jeong-yeon.

The full footage shows Lee wiping his hands with a towel before starting to eat. All three are also shown talking while eating pork with lettuce, and Lee is seen wiping his mouth with a napkin after chewing the wrap at the clip's 08:55 mark.

Below are screenshot comparisons of the manipulated clip (left) and the original clip published by OhmyTV (right), with timestamps included below the images:

Screenshot comparisons of the edited clip shared on Facebook (left) and the original clip published by OhmyTV (right)

Various local media published photos of Lee chowing down on lettuce wraps during his visit, including here, here and here (archived links here, here and here).

Lee, who lost by a razor-thin margin to Yoon in 2022, is a frequent target of disinformation, which AFP has debunked here, here and here.

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

E-mail