Spoof film poster satirising South Korean president's relationship with aide misleads online
- Published on November 13, 2025 at 02:52
- 2 min read
- By SHIM Kyu-Seok, AFP South Korea
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As South Korea's main opposition party accused a long-time aide to the country's leader of overstepping her authority, an altered image circulated in posts satirising her relationship with President Lee Jae Myung. The image was edited from a poster for the 2005 South Korean film "You Are My Sunshine", with some posts cropping out satirical elements and misleading some social media users.
The image of Lee and his long-time aide Kim Hyeon-ji holding hands while dressed in wedding attire was shared on Facebook on November 1, 2025.
The image was also shared in similar posts as members of the opposition People Power Party and several right-leaning media outlets labelled Kim an influential "hidden figure" in the administration (archived link).
Kim was appointed as Lee's personal secretary in September, a reassignment the Yonhap News Agency said had sparked speculation it could shield her from being summoned to a parliamentary audit as personal secretaries are typically exempt from such sessions (archived here and here).
The presidential office has denied such claims, saying the reshuffle was unrelated to the audit, Yonhap reported.
The scrutiny over Kim's role in the administration has also fanned online conspiracy theories portraying her as the president's romantic partner, with comments on the circulating posts indicating some users believed the image was proof of the allegations.
"They even have a wedding photo -- now he can't deny their relationship," read one comment.
Another said: "Where did you find such material? You should have revealed it before the presidential election."
But the image was altered from a poster for a two-decade-old film and is a further example of AI-generated and manipulated images targeting Kim, a frequent subject of false narratives and misogynistic attacks circulated by critics of the president (archived link).
A reverse image search on Google found the circulating picture is altered from the official promotional poster for the 2005 South Korean movie "You Are My Sunshine", as seen on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) (archived link).
The film is about a farmer who falls in love with a woman living with HIV, and its poster features the two main characters holding hands while dressed in wedding attire.
The satirical image copies this layout, swapping the actors' faces for those of Lee and Kim.
News articles published in July and September 2005 by Star News Korea, Money Today, and KBS show the poster with a tagline reading, "I will take responsibility for her to the very end, no matter what happens" (archived here, here and here).
Some posts sharing the altered image, including Facebook and X posts, include indications of satire -- such as text reading, "The blockbuster film of 2025" -- but many misleading posts cropped these elements out.
AFP has previously debunked other misleading claims targeting South Korean politicians.
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