President raises ICC arrest warrant for Israeli PM
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By Yi Whan-wooPublished May 20, 2026 7:45 pm KST
Updated May 20, 2026 9:05 pm KST
Lee calls Israel's detention of Korean nationals 'way out of line'
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a weekly Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday Korea should consider complying with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he strongly criticized Israel for seizing Korean nationals in international waters.
Lee called their detention “way out of line” as he mentioned the Israeli military’s seizure of Gaza-bound humanitarian ships carrying Korean activists, while receiving a briefing on the Middle East conflict during a weekly Cabinet meeting.
The president questioned the legal basis for intercepting the ships, asking whether the vessel had entered Israeli territorial waters or violated any recognized boundary.
“There are even minimum international norms, and they are violating all of them,” Lee said.
“How belligerent parties deal with each other is not really for us to intervene in, but is it justifiable to seize, arrest and detain a third-country vessel that was trying to provide aid or volunteer support?”
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, April 21. AP-Yonhap
The president assessed that the fact that the activists aboard the vessels did not follow the Seoul government’s policies and recommendations is an internal issue, but “in any case, it is correct that our citizens were detained for reasons that are not justified under international law.”
“This has gone way out of line,” the president said. “We’ve been patient for too long.”
Lee then brought up the ICC’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu as he spoke with National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac, asking whether “almost all European countries have issued arrest warrants for him and announced plans to arrest him if he enters their territories.”
“We should also consider making our own judgment,” the president said, to which Wi replied, “We will review the matter.”
According to the civic group Korea Federation of Freedom Flotilla for Palestine (KFFP), a vessel named Lina al-Nabulsi was seized by the Israeli navy in waters near Gaza at 2:50 a.m. Tuesday (Korea time).
The ship was part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a grassroots movement composed of campaigns and initiatives in protest of Israel’s blockade of Gaza.
On board the vessel were KFFP members — Kim Ah-hyun, a Korean national, and Korean-American Jonathan Victor Lee.
On Monday, another humanitarian ship, Kyriakos X, was also seized by the Israeli navy in international waters near Cyprus, with a Korean national, Kim Dong-hyun, being detained.
As a result, a total of three Korean nationals and Korean American activists have been taken into custody by Israeli authorities within three days.
Lee’s remark on Netanyahu came after diplomatic unease between Korea and Israel over his social media post in April.
The president drew an analogy between the Holocaust and Israel’s human rights violations in the Middle East conflict.
His post drew condemnation from Israel, which found it trivializing of the Jewish massacre.
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