South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung said on Wednesday, May 20, that his country is considering complying with the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He made the statement while reacting to the latest Israeli attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla and the abduction of several Korean nationals participating in the attempts to break its illegal blockade of Gaza.
“There are even minimum international norms, and they are violating all of them,” Lee was reported saying by The Korea Times. He defined the Israeli act as “way out of line” and unacceptable.
He claimed that Korean citizens have been arrested “for reasons that are not justified under international law,” and demanded exactly what criminal acts Israel could quote to justify the arrests.
“Is it justifiable to seize, arrest and detain a third country vessel that was trying to provide aid or volunteer support?” Lee asked during his weekly cabinet meeting.
He claimed that South Korea will follow the European Countries who have expressed their open compliance with the ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu, meaning if he travels to the country he would be arrested.
Netanyahu and several of his cabinet colleagues have been indicted of human rights violations and war crimes during the Israeli war on Gaza, which began in October 2023. Arrest warrants were issued against them in November 2024.
Abduction and custodial torture
At least three Korean nationals were abducted, along with hundreds others by the Israeli forces from international waters in the Mediterranean on Monday and Tuesday, during their attack on the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla.
The latest round of the aid flotilla was launched by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition on Thursday, May 14, on the 78th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba from Marmaris, Turkey, with over 500 participants from across the globe and 45 ships.
The abducted Korean nationals identified as Kim Ah-hyun, Victor Lee, and Kim Dong-hyun are all part of the Korean Federation of Freedom Flotilla for Palestine (KFFP). They were on two different vessels, Kyriakos X and Lina al-Nabulsi when kidnapped.
The attack on the aid flotilla and abduction of the activists have caused global outrage particularly after several videos of activists being tortured in custody have surfaced on social media.
Since 2025, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition has been organizing aid convoys to Gaza, with the objective of protesting against the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory and to provide humanitarian aid.
In complete violation of international humanitarian laws, Israel has repeatedly attacked the flotillas, seized the aid material, and kidnapped the activists. The last such attack was less than a month before in April. The activists reported that they were beaten and tortured while in Israeli custody.
Pakistan
A large protest demonstration was organized at Karachi Press Club (KPC) in Pakistan against Israel’s attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla and the arrest of Saad Edhi, a Pakistani national onboard one of the aid ships going to Gaza. Edhi was subsequently released from Israeli custody on May 21.
The protest was called by Alternate, a progressive youth organization, in collaboration with the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), and Home Based Workers Federation (HBWF). Several other organizations also joined the protest.
At the demonstration, speakers underlined the illegality of the Israeli act and even claimed that all those kidnapped, including Edhi, were tortured in custody.
Edhi and the others arrested have committed no crime and violated no law, speakers claimed, noting their attempts to carry humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza is sanctioned by international law.
After his release, Edhi claimed he had been denied sleep for four days by Israeli authorities and was continuously tortured.
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