This image of South Korea's former prosecutor-general has been doctored

This article is more than one year old.
Published on August 19, 2021 at 06:18
2 min read
By Richard KANG, AFP South Korea

An image has been shared repeatedly in multiple Facebook posts that purport to show South Korea's former prosecutor-general speaking in front of a sign that says he intends to take the "top seat" in the 2022 presidential election. Although the former prosecutor-general has said he intends to contend the upcoming election, the image in the posts has been doctored. The slogan in the original photo contains a sign that states the politician will pursue "fairness" and "common sense" in the presidential race.

The image was published here on Facebook on August 13, 2021.

It shows South Korea's former prosecutor-general Yoon Seok-youl, standing at a podium.

He is considered one of the leading candidates for the country's upcoming presidential election in March 2022.

The Korean-language slogans seen behind Yoon in the photo appear to read: "The future to form with [Korean] subjects by taking the top seat and engaging in some manipulation. Press conference by Yoon Seok-youl."

Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post, taken on August 18, 2021. ( AFP)

The post's Korean-language caption translates to English as: "He wants to win a gold medal. He wants to be a national representative. But he doesn't want to compete to win that position. You don't need to participate in [a party election to choose a presidential candidate] if you keep whining like that".

The same image was shared on Facebook here and here.

Comments by some Facebook users suggest they were misled by the image.

One user suggested Yoon was hampering his own chances of winning by being opaque about his tactics, writing: "It seems like he doesn't want to become president."

However, the image has been digitally doctored.

A reverse search on Google found the original photo published here on June 29, 2021, by South Korean newspaper The Korea Herald.

The photo's caption reads: "Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl announces his bid to compete in the presidential race next year during a press conference held in southern Seoul on Tuesday."

The image is credited to "Joint Press Corps/Yonhap".

The slogans seen in the original photo read: "The future to form with the public by pursuing fairness and common sense. Press conference by Yoon Seok-youl."

Below is a screenshot comparison between the doctored image seen in the Facebook post (L) and the original photo published by The Korea Herald (R):

Screenshot comparison between the doctored image seen in the Facebook post (L) and the original photo published by The Korea Herald (R). ( AFP)

A clip published on June 29, 2021 on South Korean broadcaster Channel A's YouTube channel shows the same scene at Yoon's press conference.

Screenshot of Channl A's YouTube clip. ( AFP)

Images of the press conference with slogans can be seen in other reports by South Korean media outlets, including Hankyoreh and Oh My News.

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