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AFP
a day ago
- Business
- AFP
Decade-old photo misrepresented as South Korean reaction to Trump's tariffs
The photo of a joyous crowd, superimposed with Korean-language text that reads "Response to 15 percent tariffs", was shared on Facebook on August 7, 2025. The photo is contrasted with an image of a protest, which is labelled "Response to 0 percent tariffs". The comparison circulated after Trump's July 30 announcement of a 15 percent tariff on South Korean imports -- below a 25 percent tariff that the US president had threatened earlier -- after extensive trade negotiations with Seoul (archived link). South Korean President Lee Jae Myung of the centre-left Democratic Party called the agreement the "first major trade challenge" since his administration came into power in June after the impeachment of Yook Suk Yeol from the conservative People Power Party (archived link). Opinion polling shows that a significant proportion of South Koreans believed Lee had fared well in negotiations, crediting him with avoiding a collapse in trade talks and preventing even harsher measures (archived link). Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on August 8, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The image comparison was also shared in similar posts elsewhere on Facebook and Threads, as well as on right-wing forum Ilbe. "That's why we say leftists are brain-dead," read a comment on one of the posts. Another said: "What are those people thinking?" But the image comparison misleadingly uses a photo unrelated to any trade agreement between Washington and Seoul. Impeachment rally A reverse image search on Google found the photo of the celebrating crowd in a report published by The Korea Economic Daily on December 10, 2016 -- nearly a decade before Trump's tariff demands (archived link). According to its caption, the photo shows citizens cheering the impeachment of then-president Park Geun-hye, who was embroiled in a corruption scandal (archived link) The taken shortly after lawmakers passed the impeachment bill, following months of peaceful mass protests calling for Park's removal. Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared image (left) and The Korea Economic Daily's photo published in December 2016 (right) A reverse image search of the protest photo used in the false posts led to an article published in left-wing online newspaper Newscham on January 16, 2007 (archived link). Its caption says it shows protesters in Seoul rallying the US-Korea free trade agreement (FTA), which was signed later that year (archived link). Opponents of the FTA feared it would flood the Korean market with cheap US agricultural products, threatening the livelihoods of domestic farmers (archived link). Lee and his administration are frequent targets of disinformation online, which AFP has debunked multiple times.
Korea Herald
26-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Won hits 7-month high, paving way for BOK rate cut
All eyes on BOK's Thursday meeting as policymakers weigh 0.25 percentage point cut The Korean won climbed into the 1,360-won range on Monday, gaining value against the US dollar to reach a seven-month high at the opening quote. With the local currency strengthening, the Bank of Korea is expected to carry out a rate cut this week. The won was quoted at 1,369 per dollar as the market opened Monday, strengthening by 2.5 won from the previous after-hours trading session. It marked the strongest opening value of the won against the dollar since October. After briefly weakening to 1,371 won during early trading, the won reversed course and strengthened to 1,360.5 won per dollar — its strongest intraday level since reaching 1,355.9 won on Oct. 15. As of 2 p.m., the won was trading at 1,363.45 per dollar. In recent weeks, the won has been gaining momentum as markets anticipate that Korean foreign exchange authorities may allow its appreciation as part of broader trade talks with the US. Between May 16 and 23, the won appreciated by 2.45 percent in terms of after-hours closing prices, making it the second-strongest-performing currency among major economies during that period. The Swedish krona posted the largest gain, rising 2.51 percent. While a news report in local The Korea Economic Daily Wednesday suggested that the US had requested Korea to implement measures to strengthen the won as part of trade talks, Korean forex authorities denied the claim. 'The two countries share a mutual understanding on the principles of forex market operations and exchange rate policies and are discussing a range of negotiation agendas,' the Finance Ministry said Thursday. 'Nothing has been specifically decided at this stage, and discussions are still ongoing.' Meanwhile, the won's recent appreciation provides the Bank of Korea with more room to cut its base rate by 0.25 percentage point, which currently stands at 2.75 percent. The central bank has been under pressure to ease monetary policy to support the economy, which contracted by 0.2 percent in the first quarter of this year. While BOK Governor Rhee Chang-yong has previously cited currency volatility as a key concern, the recent strengthening of the won could ease that pressure and open the path to a rate cut. 'With strong downward pressure on the economy, the BOK is likely to leave the door open for further rate reductions even after implementing a cut this week,' said Ahn Ye-ha, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities.
