Posts falsely claim South Korean ex-president Moon built statue to show ‘subservience’ to North Korea

A photograph of a tall statue bowing in direction of North Korea has been extensively shared in social media posts that falsely declare it was constructed by former president Moon Jae-in to point out “subservience” to Pyongyang. Whereas the photograph does present a statue in South Korea bowing within the route of its northern neighbour, it was commissioned by an area authorities tourism workplace in South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province and inbuilt 2016 practically a yr earlier than Moon was elected president. At the moment Moon was serving as an area politician in a distinct area.

“Have a look at what Moon Jae-in has made,” reads the Korean-language declare shared right here on Fb on December 17 with a photograph exhibiting a statue of a person bowing.

The picture is labelled “Oknyeo peak on the Imjin River”.

“Treasonous forces arrange a statue kowtowing to the North close to a [South Korean] navy base – [these forces] have to be eradicated instantly,” the put up provides.

“This grovelling, 10-meter-high statue at Oknyeo peak bowing in direction of North Korea should be shattered. Destroy it.”

Screenshot of the deceptive declare shared on Fb, captured January 5, 2023

An identical claims had been shared on Fb right here and right here, in addition to right here on Naver Band, a South Korean social media platform.

The statue, known as “Greetingman”, is situated at Oknyeo Peak in Yeoncheon County in South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province, round 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) from the border with North Korea.

Nevertheless, it was commissioned by an area authorities tourism workplace in South Korea’s Gyeonggi Province and inbuilt 2016 practically a yr earlier than Moon was elected president. At the moment Moon was serving as an area politician in a distinct area.

Statue inbuilt 2016

Yeoncheon County’s official web site says the statue was inbuilt 2016, and describes it as “a 10-metre tall sculpture of an enormous bowing within the route of the North” bending ahead at “angle of 15 levels, which symbolises a present of respect towards others whereas not dropping respect for oneself”.

A spokesperson for Yeoncheon County’s tourism workplace confirmed to AFP that the statue was inaugurated on April 23, 2016, including that it was “commissioned by the Gyeonggi Tourism Group,” a authorities tourism company.

In keeping with interviews with the statue’s creator, the artist Yoo Younger-ho, seen right here and right here, it’s one in every of two sculptures he had supposed to erect on South and North Korean territory, in instructions going through one another to point out reconciliation between the 2 international locations.

Yoo additionally appeared in a documentary revealed by South Korean broadcaster MBC in October 2019, wherein he defined that Greetingman symbolises “a want to start out over, starting with greetings”.

Yeoncheon County’s then-mayor Kim Kwang-cheol, who was additionally featured within the movie, mentioned that it was “extremely significant that we erected this statue in Yeoncheon County, as it’s the closest space to the North and thus can display to North Korea that we imply peace.”

Throughout Kim’s tenure as mayor, Yeoncheon County introduced plans to erect a second Greetingman statue on North Korean territory, although it in the end didn’t materialise.

In keeping with studies right here and right here, Yoo has made different Greetingman statues, together with in Uruguay and Mexico. There are two extra in South Korea, one in Yanggu County and one other on Jeju Island.

Moon in 2016

When the statue was inaugurated in April 2016, South Korea’s authorities, in addition to the native governments of Gyeonggi Province and Yeoncheon County had been all headed by members of the Saenuri Celebration, the predecessor of the nation’s present, conservative-leaning ruling Individuals Energy Celebration.

Moon on the time was a Democratic Celebration lawmaker representing Sasang District within the metropolis of Busan, gearing up for an eventual presidential run in Could 2017.