South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law late on December 3 before being forced into a U-turn after lawmakers defied troops in parliament and voted to reverse the measure while ' while thousands were protesting outside. But a picture that went over social media around the world shows tanks entering the capital of Seoul after Yoon's shock announcement. The picture goes back to news reports from January 2024 about a military exercise in the city.
“Breaking! South Korea is undergoing a coup! Tanks are rolling into Seoul as emergency martial law takes effect,” read Thai-language text superimposed over a TikTok video shared on December 3.
The video showed a still image of tanks on a highway.
A screenshot of the fake TikTok post, taken on December 6, 2024
Spread the same image in similar posts Spanish, English, French, German, Chinese, Malay, Burmese and Korean after Yoon plunged the country into political chaos with his attempt to remove civilian rule on December 3.
Yoon sent special forces and helicopters to parliament before lawmakers forced him to cancel the order by rejecting his mandate.
The unpleasant boss to narrow survived impeachment motion in parliament even as large crowds braved freezing temperatures to call for his ouster (archive link).
Despite remaining in office, several investigations have been closing in on Yoon and his close friends, including an investigation for alleged sedition.
The picture that is circulating, however, goes on several months before Yoon's martial law confirmation.
Military drill
A reverse image search on Google found the photo in an article by a South Korean newspaper Seoul Shinmun from 27 January 2024 (archive link).
They described a military exercise involving 12 armored vehicles and around 40 soldiers that took place in the early hours of January 25.
The vehicles crossed the capital's Dongjak Bridge and drove through central Seoul as part of the training, the report said.
It also included a link to footage of the tanks posted on January 25 by KFN newsYouTube channel run by South Korea's Defense Media Agency (archive link).
According to the video's description, the vehicles were performing a military drill to “show that they were determined to firmly defend the capital.”
At the 59-second mark of the video, the same scene in the viral photo can be seen.
Below is a screenshot comparison between the fake TikTok post (left) and the same image seen on the YouTube video (right):
A screenshot comparison between a fake TikTok post (left) and the same image seen on the YouTube video (right)
AFP has released a wave of misinformation about South Korea's December declaration of martial law, including Yoon's false claims forcing 11pm curfew across the country and a photo falsely shared as a complaint after his announcement.
December 10, 2024 This story was amended to correct the wording of the introduction.
