Exclusive
'AI Image of Chinese People's Liberation Army Soldier' Placed Next to Independence Activist Lee Jae-myung’s Memorial Tablet; Aimed at Insulting the President?

[비즈한국] BizHankook has discovered that a printout of what appears to be a member of the Chinese People's Liberation Army was placed next to the memorial tablet of independence activist Lee Jae-myung. It is presumed that someone opposed to President Lee Jae-myung, who shares the same name, committed this act to highlight and insult the president over controversies regarding his perceived pro-China stance.

On August 29, this reporter visited the Seoul National Cemetery and discovered a printout, believed to be an AI-generated image of a Chinese People's Liberation Army soldier in 1960s-1980s uniform, placed next to the memorial tablet of activist Lee Jae-myung at the Muhoo Seonyeol Jedan.

The Muhoo Seonyeol Jedan is a space dedicated to the memorial tablets of independence activists who have no surviving descendants and whose remains were never recovered. 130 independence activists, including Lee Jae-myung, Yu Gwan-sun, and Park Yeol, are honored here.

Activist Lee Jae-myung was an independence activist in the late Korean Empire who attempted to assassinate the pro-Japanese traitor Lee Wan-yong. On December 22, 1909, he attacked Lee Wan-yong with a knife while the latter was riding a rickshaw in front of Myeongdong Cathedral, where a memorial service for King Leopold II of Belgium was being held, inflicting serious injuries. He was arrested at the scene, sentenced to death by the court, and was martyred at the Seodaemun Prison (then Gyeongseong Prison) on September 30, 1910, at the age of 24.

Activist Lee Jae-myung had no ties to communism or China. The era in which he was active was before communist ideology was introduced into Joseon in earnest.

The printout in question is believed to be an attempt to insult President Lee Jae-myung, who shares the same name. Activist Lee and President Lee share the same Chinese characters in their names, and the date of the activist's attempt and the president's birthday (according to his family register) are the same, which has drawn attention in the past. In 2017, the president even posted a photo on social media where he superimposed his own face onto a photo of activist Lee Jae-myung. However, the two share different ancestral clans (bon-gwan) and are not related.

Conservative factions have long criticized the president for his alleged pro-China tendencies. The individual who placed the printout appears to have used the image of the Chinese People's Liberation Army to highlight and insult the president over these controversies.

If this act is confirmed to be intentional, it will likely face criticism for insulting and exploiting a sacred space dedicated to independence activists for political purposes. The Seoul National Cemetery stated, "We will first look into the facts," adding that it was "difficult to answer immediately" regarding whether it would be possible to check CCTV to identify who left the printout.