Image of S. Korea ex-leader 'taunting' colleague is doctored

The image, purportedly a screenshot of a news report by South Korean broadcaster SBS, was shared in Facebook on May 7, 2025.

It shows Moon clasping the hand of a bedridden Lee during the latter's hunger strike in 2023 (archived link).

The then-leader of the opposition Democratic Party was hospitalised 19 days into his protest over what he called the government's "incompetent and violent" policies.

A Korean-language chyron on the purported screenshot reads, "Moon Jae-in: Don't you wish to eat a bowl of jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles)?"

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on May 7, 2025

The image, which was first shared during the hunger strike in 2023, resurfaced ahead of South Korea's presidential election on June 3.

The latest Gallup poll released on April 25 shows Lee is the frontrunner to replace ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached and removed from office over his short-lived suspension of civilian rule.

Comments on the posts suggest many users believed Moon had mocked his partymate, and recall the derision and false claims levelled at Lee by ruling party lawmakers and critics at the time (archived link).

"See how (Moon) is mocking (Lee), aware that all this was just a charade. It is evil versus evil," read a comment on one of the posts.

"It's a competition between the worst of humanity," another user wrote.

The chyron on the circulating image, however, was lifted from a different news report about Moon meeting a hospitalised soldier.

Altered screenshot

A keyword search on Google led to the full SBS news report, posted on YouTube on September 19, 2023 (archived link).

The footage does not have the chyron added to the falsely shared image. 

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Screenshot comparison of the doctored image (left) and the corresponding frame from an SBS news report (right)

A separate SBS report with clearer audio and captions of Moon and Lee's' exchange showed the former president urging his partymate to end his hunger strike (archived link).

"We fully share and sympathise with those feelings. Still, the sincerity and determination of the hunger strike has been sufficiently demonstrated," Moon says.

"I think now you must recover and fight again in a different way."

Lee ended his hunger at 24 days, following the visits of Moon and other politicians (archived link).

The remarks were also reported by local broadcasters KBS and MBC (archived here and here).

Lifted chyron

The text superimposed on the falsely shared image was taken from a YTN report, posted on YouTube on August 12, 2015 (archived link).

Moon had been speaking to a hospitalised soldier who lost his legs to a landmine.

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Screenshot comparison of the chyron in the doctored screenshot (left) and in a 2015 YTN news report (right)

Moon had asked the soldier whether he needed anything, but the remark about wanting a bowl of noodles was criticised as insensitive (archived here and here). 

AFP has debunked other false claims regarding South Korea's upcoming election.