Old Trump remarks falsely linked to former South Korean president's arrest

"President Trump's response to news of President Yoon Suk Yeol's detention," reads the title of a post shared on South Korean far-right forum Ilbe on July 10, 2025.

The post was shared hours after Yoon was detained and held in a solitary cell pending investigations into accusations of insurrection related to his suspension of civilian rule in December 2024 (archived link).

An attached video shows Trump telling reporters: "Thank you, it's a very sad day for America. If you look at what's happening, this is a persecution of a political opponent. This was never supposed to happen."

A Korean-language translation of his remarks are included in the post.

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Screenshot of the false Ilbe post captured on July 10, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

Yoon was taken into custody at the Seoul Detention Center on July 10 after an hours-long review of an arrest warrant by a Seoul court.

A special counsel probing Yoon's case had filed for his arrest days earlier citing concerns the former president might destroy crucial evidence as the investigation expanded into alleged insurrection.

Yoon was removed from office by the Constitutional Court in April, prompting a snap poll that resulted in the election of ex-opposition leader Lee Jae-myung.

The same clip purportedly showing Trump's response to Yoon's detention also circulated among right-wing users on Facebook, YouTube and South Korean online forums including Naver Band.

"We agree with you Mr President, Lee is forcibly persecuting and imprisoning President Yoon Suk Yeol," read a comment on one of the posts.

Another said: "Trump will now rain down tariffs as punishment for this."

But Trump was not speaking about Yoon's detention.

Trump charges

A keyword search for Trump's remarks on YouTube led to longer footage posted on the verified YouTube channel of US broadcaster CBS News on August 3, 2023 (archived link).

The YouTube video is titled, "Trump says it's 'a very sad day for America' after 3rd criminal arraignment".

He was speaking after he pleaded not guilty to four federal charges stemming from his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 US presidential election he lost to Joe Biden (archived link).

The falsely shared version of the footage that circulated on South Korean social media appears to be a cropped version of a YouTube short posted by the Reuters news agency (archived link). 

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Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the Reuters video (right)

In the longer video, Trump's other comments show he was referring to himself -- not any foreign leader -- as he references the 2024 US presidential election he would go on to win (archived link).  

"This is the persecution of the person that is leading by very, very substantial numbers in the Republican primary and leading Biden by a lot," he says.

"If you can't beat him, you persecute him or you prosecute him, you can't let this happen in America."

Trump's remarks were covered in US and international news reports at the time (archived here, here and here).

AFP has debunked multiple other false posts claiming Trump has expressed support for Yoon.