A photo posted in a conservative community claimed that Jeon Han-gil, a former Korean history instructor, received a medal from U.S. President Donald Trump, but it has been reported that the image was manipulated.
On the 13th (local time), AFP reported regarding the photo of Jeon that "the image of Jeon was superimposed onto a photograph of a Republican donor who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom."
AFP noted that Jeon was confirmed not to be on the official list of recipients of the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom. The original photo is from a New York Times (NYT) report dated Nov. 16, 2018, depicting President Trump awarding the Medal of Freedom to Miriam Adelson.
The photo appeared on a conservative social media (SNS) platform that has over 30,000 subscribers on the 11th. The author stated, "At first, I thought it was a boast, but after seeing this photo where Teacher Jeon received the medal directly from President Trump, I began to believe that the U.S. is behind him," adding, "the Yoon Seok-yeol administration should be prepared to become enemies with President Trump if they touch Jeon."
The photo includes a scene where Jeon warns on his YouTube channel targeting the Lee Jae-myung government, saying, "If you touch me, Trump will move," or "The U.S., Japan, and the U.K. are behind me."
Meanwhile, Jeon stated in a call with ChosunBiz that "the post that appeared in the conservative community is fake news and manipulated." He also mentioned that he has never claimed to have received the Medal of Freedom from President Trump.