"They said 'This is the status of the Republic of Korea'... Government excluded South African President from the photo"

President Moon's 'Front Row Group Photo' Released Highlighting "Our Status"
But South African President's Section Was Cropped Out
Citizens Criticize as "Diplomatic Faux Pas" and "Embarrassing"

The government posted promotional posters for the Group of Seven (G7) summit on social networking services (SNS). From left to right, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, President Moon, and U.S. President Joe Biden are standing. However, it was confirmed that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was originally standing to the left of President Macron in the original photo, sparking a controversy over manipulation. The government has now replaced the poster with the original photo. / Photo by Korea Policy Briefing website capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] It was confirmed on the 14th that the government posted a group photo of the major 7 countries (G7) summit, which President Moon Jae-in participated in, on social networking services (SNS), but the part showing Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, was cropped out. The government explained that it was a mistake made during the image production process, but among citizens, criticism poured out such as "Is this the status of the Republic of Korea?" and "It is rude and embarrassing."

On the 13th, the government posted a promotional poster of the G7 summit group photo titled "The Status of the Republic of Korea Seen in One Photo" on the 'Government of the Republic of Korea' Facebook and Twitter accounts.

The photo shows President Moon and other heads of state gathered for a commemorative photo with Carbis Bay in Cornwall, UK, where the G7 summit was held, as the background.

In the front row, from the left, are Emmanuel Macron, President of France; Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; President Moon; and Joe Biden, President of the United States. In the second and third rows are Yoshihide Suga, Prime Minister of Japan; Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany; and Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, among others.

The poster includes the phrase, "This place, this appearance is the status of the Republic of Korea. We have come this far," and "It is the result of the sweat and effort of the great people who overcame times of hardship. It is moving. All thanks to the people." It is interpreted that President Moon's position in the front row symbolizes the status of the Republic of Korea.

Original group photo of the G7 Summit.
Photo by Korea Policy Briefing website capture

However, unlike the original commemorative photo, the photo posted by the government cropped out the part showing President Ramaphosa, who was standing at the far left of the front row. Online communities and SNS raised concerns that the photo was intentionally edited to pull President Moon to the center position.

As this fact became known, immediate criticism poured out among citizens. It was criticized whether the act of cutting out only the part of a certain country's leader from a group photo of heads of state gathered together represents the "status of the Republic of Korea." Netizens strongly criticized the government with responses such as "It is a very serious diplomatic blunder," "It is incomprehensible from a common-sense perspective," "Hypocrisy and pretense that will remain in history," and "It is embarrassing and only makes me sigh."

As the controversy spread, the government revised the post with a photo including President Ramaphosa on the 14th, just about 10 hours after posting the photo, stating, "There was a mistake in the image production process." They added, "We will be more careful in content production."

A representative from the Public Communication Office of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which manages the 'Government of the Republic of Korea' account, explained to a media outlet, "The designer edited the photo to make it look better during the uploading process, and there was a mistake in not properly filtering this," adding, "It was not intended to highlight President Moon but simply a production error."