"Snapped with Director Jang Hang-jun"... Chungbuk education superintendent candidate caught in fake photo controversy

\r\n
[Financial News] Kim Seong-geun, a candidate in the June 3 local elections for superintendent of education of Chungcheongbuk-do, has come under fire for possible election law violations after posting a composite photo on social networking service (SNS) that made it appear as if he had taken a picture with director Jang Hang-jun.
According to Yonhap News Agency and others on the 27th, the camp of rival candidate Yoon Geon-young issued a press release that day, calling for investigations by the National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea (NEC) and the judicial authorities into Kim Seong-geun's fake photo.
Yoon's camp said, "According to some media reports, Kim combined two photos taken at a special lecture by director Jang Hang-jun for the film 'The Man Who Lives with the King' on March 23 and created an image showing Jang making a finger-heart gesture behind Kim, then posted it on Facebook," adding that he made it look as if they had taken a commemorative photo together.
According to Chungbuk Ilbo, Kim attended a special lecture by Jang at the Goesan Culture and Arts Center on March 23 and later uploaded a composite of two photos taken at the venue to his Facebook page.
At the time, Kim posted the photo with the message, "It was a time when I could hear directly from the director about his story on the theme of small experiences needed to become a creator. I also snapped a commemorative photo with the director," but later deleted the post.
Yoon's camp criticized the move, saying, "We are disappointed by Kim's attempt to promote himself with a fake photo that appears to have sought a celebrity halo effect in an election for superintendent of education, where a high level of morality is required." It added, "The photo was not approved by Jang for portrait rights, so it could lead to civil and criminal liability, and it has also been pointed out that it may violate the Public Official Election Act."
Article 82-8 of the Public Official Election Act prohibits, from 90 days before election day until election day, the production, editing, distribution, screening, or posting of fabricated audio, images, or videos that are difficult to distinguish from reality and are created using artificial intelligence or other technologies for campaign purposes.
Yoon's camp emphasized, "This is not a simple mishap, but a serious matter with strong suspicions that photos were manipulated and used in the election by misappropriating a celebrity's image."
Kim's camp also issued a statement that day, saying, "We bow our heads and sincerely apologize to Director Jang, his agency, and the residents of the province for causing great concern."
It explained, "Due to an error in the working process, the prior reporting and final confirmation procedures were not followed." It added, "Kim deeply feels responsible for failing to properly manage and supervise the authority he delegated and the campaign committee system."
The camp continued, "We delivered an apology letter to Director Jang and his agency, and after receiving a response saying they would not take action if the post was deleted today, we immediately removed it." It added, "Going forward, we will more strictly overhaul and carefully manage the entire system for planning, producing, and posting all content created during the campaign, and we will take the utmost care to prevent a similar incident from happening again."
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Su-yeon Reporter