Civil Servant Praised for Turning 400 Million Won into 6.8 Billion... AI Analysis Casts Doubt on Account Proof

Deleted posts after users' criticism... "Timing is not right"
"Even the account screenshot pixels differ... possible manipulation"

Photo to help readers understand the article. The Asia Business Daily Database

A civil servant who claimed to have grown his assets from 400 million won in seed money to 6.8 billion won set office-worker online communities abuzz, but suspicions have now been raised that his story was likely fabricated.

Recently, a user identifying himself as a civil servant, referred to as Mr. A, posted on an anonymous online community for office workers, drawing significant attention. Mr. A wrote, "I started investing with 400 million won and built assets of about 6.8 billion won," and released screenshots of a securities account screen showing his profit details. The post quickly spread across the community and social media (SNS). Mr. A drew attention online under the nickname "the 680-million-won civil servant" (meaning the civil servant with 6.8 billion won).

Mr. A also gave advice to users who, citing his high returns, asked him for investment tips. He projected confidence, making comments such as "It's a matter of temperament" and "Guard against psychological wavering." In some posts he appeared modest, but he continued to make remarks that suggested he was proud of his rate of return.

Practicing tax accountant raises doubts... civil servant deletes posts

However, Mr. A's posts were deleted after another user raised doubts. A user who introduced himself as a tax accountant publicly questioned the story, arguing that "there are aspects that cannot be explained realistically," based on the profit structure and tax-reporting issues under the tax code. After that, Mr. A reportedly deleted all his posts and closed his account without any further explanation.

In a verification process voluntarily carried out by online users, indications emerged that the account-verification images had been manipulated. Users noticed that the pixel arrangement in the areas displaying the amounts was subtly different from the surrounding background, and some users enlarged and analyzed the images to identify traces of editing. An analysis using artificial-intelligence (AI)-based image-detection tools also concluded that the likelihood of tampering was high.

In addition, when users compared the actual price movements of stocks Mr. A claimed to hold, such as Nvidia and Palantir, several analyses suggested that earning more than 17 times the principal in less than two years would be arithmetically extremely difficult under those conditions.

From the outset, many users agreed that the returns were hard to believe. They said, "It's not credible to reveal only the invested amount without any proof of having sold," and asked, "Why are there only four digits (6810)?", joking, "His password is probably 6818." They also pointed out that certain digits were repeated in the original account balance, saying, "The numbers at the front and back are the same," "Isn't this copy-and-paste?", and "It's hard to trust just a balance screen," while demanding concrete evidence such as detailed trade history and tax-filing records.