G7 pictures misrepresented to claim South Korean president was snubbed

Published on June 20, 2025 at 11:11
4 min read
By SHIM Kyu-Seok, AFP South Korea

Lee Jae-myung's absence from some of the G7 group pictures is not proof that the South Korean president was ignored at the summit, contrary to claims circulating on social media. The posts share images where Lee was not expected, and he appears in a bigger group photo along with other non-G7 leaders.

"(Lee Jae-myung) can't be seen in the G7 leaders' group photo, even with invited countries," reads a Korean-language post shared June 17, 2025 on Facebook.

Another post shares a different picture with a similar claim.

Screenshots of the false Facebook posts captured June 19, 2025, with orange X's added by AFP

Lee attended the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta from June 15-17 at the invitation of the summit's host, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (archived here and here).

South Korea was one of seven non-member countries invited to participate in sessions on global issues, including economic security, artificial intelligence and climate cooperation.

Lee also held bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and other leaders during the summit (archived link).

Other posts on Threads and South Korean forums such as Ilbe made similar claims, suggesting Lee was not recognised as an official invitee -- a falsehood AFP previously debunked.

Comments indicate some users believe Lee's absence from the pictures shows he was not formally invited.

"Of course they wouldn't let an observer enter the group photo," one user commented.

Another wrote: "What a national embarrassment, going all the way there just to be pulled out of a group photo."

However, Lee was not expected to appear in the pictures shared online -- and he does appear in other photos from the summit.

The first photo in the false post was taken during a meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors held in late May in Banff, Alberta -- weeks before the summit of national leaders (archived link).

A picture captured May 21 by the Italian agency NurPhoto shows the same scene. It does not feature the barrel seen in the false post, which appears to be a reference to far-right allegations surrounding the death of past associates close to Lee (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the false post with an orange X added by AFP (L) and the NurPhoto picture of the G7 finance ministers' meeting

The Canadian G7 presidency also published the photo on the meeting's website (archived link).

The second photo in the false posts shows a picture consisting only of leaders from the European Union and G7 member states -- including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

South Korea is not a member of the G7, so Lee was not expected to appear in the photo.

AFP distributed a pool picture of the same scene with a caption saying it shows the group's "family photo".

Screenshot comparison of the false post with an orange X added by AFP (L) and the G7 leaders' group photo

It matches the leaders' photo published on Canada's G7 website (archived link).

Lee was photographed June 17 alongside other invited "outreach partner" country leaders, including those from Brazil, India and South Africa.

Lee in a group picture with other leaders at the G7 summit (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / POOL)

AFP footage of the photo being taken also shows Lee on stage with other leaders.

(AFPTV / Daphné LEMELIN, Cecilia SANCHEZ)

South Korean and international news outlets published similar photos (archived here, here and here).

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