Erdoğan hand-holding video in Seoul sparks health questions

Unusual footage from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to South Korea has gone viral on social media in recent days, after the Turkish leader was seen walking while holding the hand of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.

What turned the video into the day's conversation: is Erdoğan struggling to walk on his own?

The video was filmed during the official welcoming ceremony held for Erdoğan at the presidential palace in Seoul. The footage shows the two presidents walking side by side holding hands, while their wives, Emine Erdoğan and Kim Hye-kyung, walk behind them also holding hands.

A popular Chinese social-media account posted the video and added commentary that drew wide interest. According to the account, Erdoğan is already having difficulty walking without support, and so South Korea's president was supposedly forced to assist him during the walk. The account also drew attention to the fact that Erdoğan's wife was also relying on holding hands with the South Korean president's wife.

But this is not the first time Erdoğan's hand-holding has drawn attention. In September 2025, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China, Erdoğan was filmed holding the hand and arm of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The images sparked a wave of responses at the time, with Turkish social-media users raising speculation that the president was using the grip to maintain his stability.

An earlier meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron also drew attention, after Erdoğan was filmed holding the French leader's finger in a way that earned a range of interpretations online.

The discussion around Erdoğan's walking is not new. As far back as 2021, videos circulated showing the Turkish president walking in a manner that raised questions among social-media users, and Turkish and Arab media published reports and speculation at the time about balance difficulties and the use of special shoes.

Behind the current visit also stands a longstanding political alliance: South Korea and Turkey call each other sister nations, against the backdrop of the participation of more than 21,000 Turkish soldiers in the Korean War in the 1950s.

During the visit, Erdoğan's first to the country in eight years, the two nations signed agreements in the fields of nuclear energy, mining, science and technology. Among other things, the possibility of cooperation in building a nuclear power station in Turkey was discussed, as well as expanding security and economic cooperation.