South Korea politicians quizzed on Dior bag scandal, not 'candidate's wig' in TV debate

Published on July 12, 2024 at 10:43
3 min read
By SHIM Kyu-Seok, AFP South Korea

South Korean politicians battling to lead the ruling People Power Party were not asked if they thought the frontrunner for the job Han Dong-hoon was wearing a hairpiece during a televised debate, contrary to claims in Facebook posts that shared an edited screenshot from the event. The image was taken from part of the debate in which candidates were quizzed about a scandal involving South Korea's first lady.

"The quality of the debate of the criminal party's leadership election," read a Korean-language Facebook post that shared the edited picture on July 10.

The image appears to show PPP leadership contenders answering yes or no to the question: "Do you believe candidate Han Dong-hoon's hair is a wig?"

Three of them are pictured answering in the affirmative, while Han is holding an "X" sign.

Former justice minister Han is favourite to win the July 28 poll to lead the PPP following its crushing defeat in April's parliamentary elections (archived link).

He is a regular target of disinformation in South Korea's famously adversarial politics.

Screenshot of a Facebook post sharing the false claim, taken on July 10, 2024

The doctored image made the rounds on Facebook in South Korea and was reportedly shared -- and quickly deleted -- by Cho Kuk, head of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party (archived link).

Some Facebook users appeared to believe the image showed a genuine question asked at the debate.

"This question completely befits the quality of the People Power Party," one commented.

"Why would they ask such a stupid question, no wonder our politics is like this," another wrote.

Luxury bag scandal

The full debate was livestreamed on YouTube on July 9 by South Korean broadcaster TV Chosun (archived link).

An AFP journalist who watched the one-hour 40-minute programme confirmed that Han's hair was never mentioned.

The doctored screenshot corresponds to the 9:22 mark of the debate, when candidates were asked about a scandal involving South Korea's First Lady Kim Keon Hee.

Screenshot comparison of the doctored image (left) and the original frame from the debate (right)

The candidates were asked: "Do you think the results of the parliamentary election would have been different had the first lady apologised?"

Hidden camera footage released in 2023 appeared to show President Yoon Suk Yeol's wife accepting a luxury designer handbag in violation of government ethics rules.

The "Dior bag scandal" caused a political headache for Yoon and his PPP and was believed to have contributed to the party's landslide defeat in the election (archived link).

Han in fact answered yes to that question and his sign appears to have been edited to replace the "O" with an "X".

A close-up of the doctored image reveals telltale signs of manipulation, such as discolouration and straight edges around the circular sign.

Close-up of the doctored image with visual inconsistencies highlighted by AFP

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