A fake suspect image believed to have been generated using AI. [Instagram]
A fake suspect image believed to have been generated using AI. [Instagram]

More than 20 days after a woman in her 60s was murdered in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, the suspect remains at large — and an image of the alleged perpetrator that spread widely online has turned out to be an AI-generated fake, raising concerns about investigative confusion and potential harm to innocent people.

According to police, the woman, identified only as A, was found dead inside a residence in Tongyeong at around 6:34 a.m. on June 10.

CCTV footage showed a man wearing a hat and a mask breaking into the home at around 2 a.m. that day and fleeing afterward with a handbag and other items. Police are treating the case as a robbery-murder.

The suspect is believed to be a well-built man in his 30s or 40s.

At the time of the break-in, the man had pulled a baseball cap low over his head and covered his entire face except his eyes with a mask. He also wore gloves, suggesting a deliberate effort to avoid leaving fingerprints.

The CCTV footage captured the man leaving the home carrying a handbag and other belongings he had not brought in, further supporting the robbery-murder theory. Police have distributed wanted flyers based on stills captured from the footage.

Identifying the suspect has proven difficult, however, as he was masked, gloved and capped throughout, and the CCTV footage is blurry. With no arrest after more than 20 days, anxiety in the local community has grown.

The situation was further complicated when a clear photo of a man's face began circulating rapidly on Instagram, labeled as the "Tongyeong robbery-murder suspect." The image appeared to replace the blurry CCTV still with a sharp likeness, but it turned out to be an AI-generated composite with fabricated facial features.

The image shows the man with an intense, piercing stare, making it convincing enough to be mistaken for a high-resolution lead newly obtained by investigators — adding to the confusion surrounding the case.

The post drew a stream of speculative comments, including remarks such as "the suspect looks like a foreigner" and "judging by the eyes and build, he looks like a foreign laborer from Central Asia."

Police investigating the case said the photo circulating on social media is not an official document.

"The photo going around on social media was not provided or obtained by police, and it cannot be used as evidence," a police official said.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com