Posts depicting S. Korea leader as G20 'outcast' share edited clip

Published on December 2, 2025 at 09:50
2 min read
By Hailey JO, AFP South Korea

At the conclusion of the G20 summit in South Africa, a misleadingly edited video was shared in social media posts that claimed it showed South Korean President Lee Jae Myung being "shunned" by other leaders before a group photo. A longer video of the event shows several heads of state approaching Lee to exchange greetings.

"Lee Jae Myung, an international outcast, destroys the nation's reputation at the G20 summit," reads Korean-language text superimposed on a YouTube video shared on November 24, 2025.

The 50-second clip, viewed tens of thousands of times, appears to show Lee standing alone on a stage, slightly apart from other leaders who gathered in small groups.

"The full G20 footage has been released and it shows a devastating scene of Lee Jae Myung being shunned by leaders from around the world," the video's voiceover says, adding that the footage "does not show anyone approaching him or talking to him".

"When he tried to extend his hand and say hi to other leaders, they did not even look at him and simply walked past," it says.

Screenshot of the misleading YouTube video taken on November 27, 2025, with an orange X added by AFP

Similar footage circulated elsewhere on YouTube and Facebook, and screenshots from the video were also shared on South Korean online forums FM Korea and MLB Park.

"Pathetic. Getting treated like that and calling it diplomacy? What a joke," read a comment on one of the posts.

Another said: "Why does he even go abroad just to be a loser and waste taxpayers' money?"

This year's gathering of the G20 -- comprising 19 nations plus the European Union and the African Union -- was held in Johannesburg between November 22 and 23. It drew dozens of leaders, though US President Donald Trump's government boycotted the event, claiming South Africa's priorities ran counter to its policies (archived link).

According to speeches published by the South Korean government, Lee presented Seoul's plans for advancing artificial intelligence, addressed climate change issues, and stressed the need to restore the World Trade Organization's role (archived here, here and here). Local media also reported on his agenda (archived link).

But a keyword search on YouTube led to longer videos posted by South Korean broadcasters CBS and MBC of world leaders gathering for the traditional group photo which shows the circulating clip misrepresents how the event unfolded (archived here and here).

While there are moments where Lee is shown standing along, the footage shows Lee greeting and speaking with several leaders -- including Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer -- while waiting for everyone to assemble for the group photo.

Screenshots from the CBS YouTube video showing Lee greeting several leaders before a group photo at the G20 summit

In a Gallup poll released days after the summit, Lee's approval rating stood at 60 percent, with 43 percent of respondents citing diplomacy as the reason for their positive assessment (archived link).

AFP has previously debunked other misleading claims targeting South Korean politicians.

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