"South Korean protesters march to the presidential office, demanding that dictator Yoon resign immediately or they will remove him from office!" read the Thai-language caption to a photo shared on X on December 4, 2024.
The photo, which shows an aerial view of a major city thoroughfare jam-packed with people, was shared after Yoon was forced to rescind his imposition of martial law following a parliament vote and as thousands of people demonstrated (archived link).
The failed attempt at imposing martial law sparked anger and dismay in the vibrant democracy, with protesters and the country's opposition demanding Yoon step down (archived link).
While the president survived an impeachment motion in parliament, a clutch of investigations has been closing in on Yoon and his close allies, including a probe for alleged insurrection (archived link).
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Screenshot of the false X post, captured on December 8, 2024
The photo was also shared alongside similar claims in English, Burmese and Arabic.
While demonstrators have protested outside parliament and thousands marched to the presidential office to demand Yoon's resignation, the photo first circulated eight years ago.
Photo from 2016
A reverse image search on Google found the same photo used in an article published by the Voice of America (VOA) website on December 3, 2016 (archived link).
The photo is credited to the Associated Press (AP) news agency, and was captioned: "Protesters occupy major streets in the city center for a rally against South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016."
The photo is accessible on AP's website (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison between the falsely shared photo (left) and the photo on AP's website (right):
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Screenshot comparison between the falsely shared photo (left) and the photo on AP's website (right)
AFP reported that hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Seoul for the sixth straight week on December 3, 2016 to demand the ouster and arrest of Park (archived link).
Her presidency suddenly unravelled with just over a year left to run on her term over shocking revelations of how she allowed a close personal friend, with no official position, to meddle in state affairs (archived link).
She was forced from office in March 2017 after South Korea's Constitutional Court unanimously upheld her impeachment over the corruption scandal (archived link).
AFP has debunked other false claims related to the short-lived imposition of martial law here, here and here.