Gwangsan-gu Mayor Byeong-Kyu Park Appears with President Lee in Shelter Photo... Revealed as ‘AI-Generated Composite’

[Financial News] Byeong-Kyu Park, Mayor of Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, has sparked controversy after a photo, created using artificial intelligence (AI) to show him with President Lee Jae-myung, began circulating online.
According to Yonhap News Agency on the 30th, a photo of Mayor Park and President Lee Jae-myung smiling together was recently posted in a KakaoTalk group chat with hundreds of members based in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju.
The photo was designed to appear as if it were part of an article praising Mayor Park’s administrative abilities, but an unrelated image was arbitrarily attached.
In particular, the image seems to capture President Lee (then a presidential candidate) and Mayor Park meeting residents at a Kumho Tire fire evacuation shelter. However, it was actually identified as a 'fake photo' generated by AI.
While it is true that both President Lee and Mayor Park met residents at the location, only President Lee was clearly visible, and Mayor Park was not prominently featured. It appears someone intentionally 'created' a new photo to highlight Mayor Park.
Although the individual who created and distributed the composite photo has not been identified, given that the post favors Mayor Park, it is presumed to be one of his supporters.

Yonhap News Agency analyzed that a photo of Mayor Park with President Lee would be a significant promotional asset for voters, as Mayor Park is preparing for re-election.
The issue is that such arbitrarily generated 'fake photos' could potentially mislead voters.
A Gwangsan-gu resident participating in the group chat told Yonhap News Agency, "Because the photo was posted with a news article, I didn’t suspect it was a composite," adding, "I actually felt some backlash, wondering if it was necessary to create a composite photo involving the President."
This is not the first time Mayor Park’s online promotional materials have caused controversy.
Mayor Park’s aides have also received warnings from the National Election Commission (NEC) after repeatedly promoting poll results showing him in first place in KakaoTalk group chats and other platforms.
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter