Trump-Yoon banner hung by right-wing South Korean group, not US military

Published on February 10, 2025 at 07:41
3 min read
By Hailey JO, AFP South Korea

After a South Korean court extended President Yoon Suk Yeol's detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law, an image was shared in social media posts that falsely claimed the US military had hung up a banner in support of the impeached leader at its base in Pyeongtaek. The banner, depicting Yoon and US President Donald Trump, was in fact raised by a South Korean right-wing group outside the Pyeongtaek base to "celebrate Trump's second term".

"An update on the US military base in Pyeongtaek. US soldiers put it up," read the Korean-language caption to an image shared on Threads on January 20, 2025.

Pyeongtaek, a seaport city south of the capital Seoul, is home to Camp Humphreys -- the largest overseas US military installation in the world.

The image shows a banner depicting Yoon and Trump above the words, "We go together!" The banner is hung in front of a brick wall topped with barbed wire that bears a sign reading "US Army Humphreys".

Screenshot of the false Threads post, captured on February 7, 2025

The image was shared after a court in Seoul extended Yoon's detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law, and hours before Trump was inaugurated for a second stint in the White House (archived link).

A week later, Yoon -- the first sitting South Korean head of state to be arrested -- was indicted on insurrection charges over his short-lived attempt to suspend civilian rule (archived link).

His conservative right-wing supporters have drawn parallels between Yoon and Trump -- and have used American flags and Trump-esque slogans at rallies to echo Yoon's claims about communist infiltration and electoral fraud (archived here and here).

The image and similar claims about the US military publicly showing support for Yoon were shared elsewhere on Threads as well as on the South Korean forum Naver Cafe.

The banner, however, was put up by a South Korean group, not the US military inside their base.

'Celebratory banner'

A reverse image search on Google found the image corresponds to footage posted on YouTube by the Freedom Korea National Defense Corps on January 20 (archived here and here).

The image used in the false post matches the three-second mark of the YouTube video.

Screenshot comparison of the image shared in the false posts (left) and in its original context (right)

The video's title and overlaid text indicate the banner was put up in "in front of Camp Humphreys" on January 18, "to mark President Trump's inauguration".

The YouTube channel also shared a community post that said, "A few hours from now, President Donald Trump's second term will be inaugurated. We have put up a celebratory banner in front of Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek" (archived link).

The video and image in the community post shows the banner was hung up near the Yoon Gate, in a public area outside the US military compound (archived link).

The gate is named after Major General Yoon Seung-kook, a South Korean army officer who served as a liaison between US and South Korean forces during the Korean War (archived link).

AFP has debunked another misleading claim about a purported show of support from Trump to the embattled South Korean leader here.

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