Profile Mentions 'Samsung Fan Page' Spark Discussion
"Always Supporting" Account Owner Misunderstood
Samsung: "No Official Account for Chairman Lee"
The number of followers of an Instagram account impersonating Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong has recently surged, expanding its influence.
On the 15th, it was reported that the Instagram account seemingly impersonating Chairman Lee Jae-yong surpassed 355,000 followers. The account is known to have been created in June 2020 and clearly states in its profile that it is a "Samsung fan page."
An Instagram account impersonating Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics. [Photo by Instagram capture]
However, the content cannot be viewed unless the "See More" button is clicked, and at the top, there is a phrase stating, "Samsung Electronics' management principle to fulfill its social responsibility is a promise that Samsung Electronics will uphold as a global leading company."
The account follows 165 other accounts, mostly Samsung Group affiliates and competitors such as Google and LG Electronics. Notably, it also follows President Yoon Suk-yeol, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and members of BTS, drawing attention.
The profile picture of this account is Chairman Lee, and most of the posts so far are photos or news articles about him. Because of this, many visitors mistakenly believe the account is operated directly by the chairman and leave comments accordingly.
A recent post from four days ago included a face-synthesized video of the chairman along with the caption, "A fan made this, but controversy is expected," which received replies such as "Always supporting you, Chairman Lee Jae-yong."
Additionally, a photo from last month on the 7th showing Chairman Lee visiting the Samsung Display Asan campus prompted comments from netizens presumed to be employees, such as "I was really lucky to shake hands with the chairman today at the Asan site," and "I will never forget today; it was an honor to shake hands with him along with my wife."
In August last year, a photo was posted of using the cafeteria at Samsung SDS Jamsil Campus in Songpa-gu, Seoul, with the caption, "Visited Jamsil Samsung SDS, the dried pollack soup is delicious, and there was even an iPhone." This post also received comments like "Always supporting you," and "The humble and anti-authoritarian image in front of employees is very good."
However, Samsung Electronics stated that "there is no official account of Chairman Lee." Nonetheless, since the account is a fan page, no particular sanctions have been imposed.
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