SEOUL, May 20 (AJP) -South Korean President Lee Jae Myung delivered an unusually combative series of remarks Wednesday, lashing out at Israel over its seizure of aid vessels carrying South Korean activists, warning Samsung Electronics labor unions not to “cross the line” ahead of a major strike, and condemning fashion platform Musinsa for what he called the mockery of South Korea’s democracy movement in a controversial advertisement.
The remarks, made during a Cabinet meeting and emergency economic review session at the presidential office, reflected Lee’s increasingly direct and emotionally charged governing style as his administration grapples simultaneously with geopolitical tensions, labor unrest and cultural controversies.
The president's sharpest comments were directed at Israel following the interception of humanitarian aid vessels headed toward the Gaza Strip carrying South Korean activists.
According to civic groups and government briefings, Israeli forces intercepted the vessel Lina Al Nabulsi early Wednesday near Gaza waters. The ship reportedly carried South Korean activist Kim Ah-hyun and Korean American activist Jonathan Victor Lee. Another vessel, the Kyriakos X, carrying South Korean activist Kim Dong-hyeon, had been seized two days earlier.
After receiving a briefing from Vice Foreign Minister Kim Jin-ah and National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, Lee openly questioned the legal basis for the operation.
“What is the legal justification for the seizure? Is that Israeli territorial water?” Lee asked during the meeting, according to participants. “If Gaza is not Israeli territory, shouldn’t we protest this?”
When Wi explained that Israel exercises military control over Gaza and regulates access to the area, Lee pressed further, asking whether that amounted to “illegal invasion under international law.” He described Israel’s actions as “too extreme and too inhumane,” adding that South Korea had “been patient for too long.”
The president also referenced the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Wasn’t an arrest warrant issued because he was recognized as a war criminal?” Lee asked. After aides clarified that the ICC had issued a warrant but had not formally declared Netanyahu a war criminal, Lee replied, “Then he is a war-crime suspect.”
The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other Israeli officials in 2024 over allegations tied to the Gaza conflict, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Lee also suggested South Korea should independently examine whether to align itself with countries that have signaled willingness to enforce the ICC warrant should Netanyahu enter their territory.
The remarks immediately triggered backlash from conservative opposition figures, who accused Lee of recklessness in handling a highly sensitive international conflict.
People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seok criticized the president for approaching “an extremely complex international dispute through a simplistic domestic political lens of good versus evil.” Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok urged the president to “exercise restraint,” warning that “a single remark from a president can determine a nation’s fate.”
He was equally unabashed on the looming strike at Samsung Electronics, where the company’s largest labor union plans an unprecedented walkout beginning Thursday after wage negotiations collapsed.
Without directly siding with management, Lee cautioned the union against overstepping its mandate.
“The right to collective action exists to protect socially vulnerable workers,” Lee said. “It is not a form of force granted for a small number of individuals to pursue only their own interests.”
He emphasized that corporations involve multiple stakeholders, including investors who bear financial risks and workers entitled to fair compensation.
“No one should unilaterally cross the line,” Lee warned.
The remarks came as Samsung faces the prospect of a prolonged strike involving tens of thousands of workers, many tied to the semiconductor division that has powered the company’s surge during the global AI boom.
The administration has been under mounting pressure to prevent labor disruptions at one of South Korea’s most strategically important companies, amid concerns over broader economic fallout and supply-chain instability.
Lee separately criticized online fashion platform Musinsa over a resurfaced 2019 advertising controversy involving the late democracy activist Park Jong-chul.
The controversy centered on an advertisement for quick-drying socks that used the phrase, “I hit the desk and it dried instantly,” a parody of the infamous phrase “I hit the desk and he died with a gasp,” used by authorities to cover up Park’s torture death during military rule.
Park’s death in 1987 became a catalyst for South Korea’s June Democracy Movement.
Lee condemned the advertisement in a social media post earlier Wednesday, writing: “This mocked and insulted Park Jong-chul’s torture death and the June Democratic Uprising that followed. Money may be evil, but how can people behave like this?”
Musinsa issued another public apology Wednesday, saying it deeply regretted the campaign and acknowledging that “the wounds caused by the reckless judgment and lack of internal process remain serious even after seven years.”
The company said its executives had personally apologized to the Park Jong-chul Memorial Foundation in 2019 and had since implemented historical education programs for employees and stricter content review procedures.
Shinsegae Group and Starbucks Korea also faced public backlash over marketing campaigns linked to the Gwangju Uprising, widely regarded as one of the defining moments in South Korea’s modern democratic history.
Critics accused some campaigns of trivializing or commercializing the symbolism of the May 18 movement through insensitive branding and promotional imagery, reigniting long-running tensions in South Korea over how corporations invoke historical memory for marketing purposes.
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