Old & unrelated photos and videos are falsely linked to protests against the announcement of martial law in South Korea
Amidst the introduction and subsequent revocation of martial law in South Korea on 3 December 2024, several posts (here, here, and here) have been widely shared on social media. These posts claim to show photos of large-scale protests by citizens in response to the imposition of martial law and convoys of tanks and helicopters spotted across the capital city Seoul of South Korea. Let’s verify the claim made in the post through this article.
Claim: The visuals show protests by citizens in response to the imposition of martial law, and convoys of tanks and helicopters spotted across the capital city Seoul of South Korea.
Fact: The viral photos are unrelated to protests against the announcement of martial law in South Korea. One photo shows a military training exercise conducted by the 1st Security Brigade on 25 January 2024. Another photo, featured in a social media post dated 23 November 2024, shows a separate protest demanding Yoon Seok-yeol’s resignation. Both visuals predate the announcement of martial law on 03 December 2024. Additionally, the viral video is a simulation and doesn’t show a real event. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
Photo 1: This photo allegedly shows South Korea’s security forces entering the National Assembly building in Seoul, with tanks deployed on the streets following the declaration of martial law by the President.
A reverse image search of the viral photo led us to a news report by Zum News (archive) dated 27 January 2024, featuring the same photo. According to a report on 25 January 2024, the 1st Security Brigade of the Army Capital Defense Command conducted a mobile training exercise in downtown Seoul using K808 wheeled armoured vehicles (Baekho). The exercise was aimed at familiarising the troops with the operational environment of the city and enhancing their readiness. It has nothing to do with the events surrounding the imposition of martial law.
Video: This clip allegedly shows a war scene with bullets fired from both sides. It was shared with a caption claiming that South Korea’s president declared emergency martial law, stating the measure was necessary to protect the country from North Korea’s “communist forces.”
To verify the claim, we conducted a reverse image search of the keyframes from the viral video, which led us to an original video (archive)on YouTube dated 13 March 2022. The video, posted by the channel “Compared Comparison,” is titled “C-RAM firing at Fighter Jet at Night – Military Simulation – ArmA 3 #Shorts.” The video’s description revealed that it is a simulation and not a real event.
Photo 2: This photo allegedly shows South Koreans protesting on the streets following the announcement of martial law. Within just two hours, public resistance led to the revocation of the martial law.
A reverse image search of the viral photo led us to a post (archive) on the Threads platform, dated 23 November 2024, which featured the same photo along with others. The caption read: “Shining brighter than any star. In a world where people who throw away trash are separated, a gathering of people who only wish for Yoon Seok-yeol’s resignation. And the last photo is our Busan… Unbelievable.”
A Google keyword search, based on the caption from the Thread post, led us to a Brunch Story blog post (archive) dated 25 November 2024. The post featured the same viral photo, with the caption: “A country’s important work that must be protected at the risk of one’s life/Yoon Jeong-kwon’s judicial corruption. Politicians’ lies are a serious crime that kills countless citizens and puts the country in danger!”
However, we couldn’t independently verify the photo’s origin. But its presence on the internet much before the events on 03 December 2024 confirms that it is unrelated to the announcement of martial law, as it predates 03 December 2024.
To sum up, old & unrelated photos and videos are being falsely linked to protests against the announcement of martial law in South Korea.