New York Times front page altered to feature South Korean ruling party leader

"Chairman Han Dong-hoon appears on the New York Times front page," read a Korean-language Facebook post that shared the doctored picture.

The edited front page, dated December 2, shows a photo of Han captioned: "Han Dong-hoon, Kennedy of South Korea, is top candidate to be next president of South Korea".

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law nationwide in a move that stunned the world, only to lift the order six hours later after lawmakers voted unanimously to reject it (archived link).

Han demanded on December 6 that Yoon stand down, while opposition lawmakers launched a motion to impeach him after filing a criminal complaint against him and other key figures for insurrection against the state (archived here and here).

The impeachment vote is set for Saturday at around 7 pm (10 am GMT).

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Screenshot of the post with the altered front page shared on Facebook, captured December 5

South Korean media have tipped Han as a future presidential contender, with some comparing him to former US president John F Kennedy (archived here and here).

The doctored front page spread across Facebook fan groups devoted to Han, including here, here and here. 

Wrong date

A keyword search for headlines seen in the doctored image found it corresponded to the July 18, 2023 issue of the Times (archived link).

The photo on the front page showed people in Chernivtsi, Ukraine and was captioned: "Honoring the War Effort, Far from the Front".

Below is a screenshot comparison between the doctored image (left) and the original Times front page from July 18, 2023 (right):

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Screenshot comparison between the doctored image (left) and the original New York Times front page from July 18, 2023 (right)

A keyword search on the New York Times' website found no results for the moniker "Kennedy of South Korea" in reference to Han. 

Furthermore, the date on the doctored front page reads "Tuesday, December 2, 2024" -- but that day was a Monday. 

In fact, no news about South Korea featured on the New York Times front page on December 2, which instead featured a photo of Ukrainian troops (archived link).

News about South Korea's martial law was published on the front page on December 4, with a photo of South Korean police and an armoured vehicle near the National Assembly (archived link).

Below is a comparison between the doctored front page (left), the actual front page from December 2 (centre) and from December 4 featuring news about South Korea's martial law (right):

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Comparison between the doctored front page (left), actual front page from December 2, 2024 (centre), and the December 4, 2024 edition featuring news about South Korea's martial law (right)

Separate searches found international editions of the Times also featured no photos of Han on its front page. 

Meanwhile, a reverse image search on Google found the photo of Han featured on the doctored front page corresponded to a photo published by Korean news website Hankyoreh on July 25, 2024, months before the short-lived martial law was declared (archived link). 

The photo, which is credited to Yonhap news agency, shows Han at the National Assembly shortly after his election as party leader. 

AFP has previously debunked misinformation about the martial law in South Korea here and here.