South Korean police arrested a man Thursday for posting an AI-generated photo of an escaped wolf—an image convincing enough to fool city officials and trigger an emergency alert to thousands of residents. According to police, the stunt delayed the capture of an actual wolf, which had escaped from a zoo two weeks prior, by up to nine days.
The wolf at the center of this weird saga is Neukgu—a two-year-old male wolf that dug its way out of an enclosure at Daejeon's O-World zoo on April 8. Neukgu also happens to be part of a program to restore the Korean wolf, a species now considered extinct in the wild on the Korean Peninsula.
Hours after Neukgu went missing, the fake image appeared online. It appeared to show a light-brown wolf trotting through a road intersection near the zoo. The photo was convincing enough that Daejeon city government issued an emergency text to residents warning the wolf had moved toward the intersection—and displayed it at an official press briefing.
The AI-generated image of the wolf in South Korea that raised alarms. Image: Upscaled by Decrypt using AIThe hunt for Neukgu was not a minor operation. The city mobilized hundreds of firefighters, police officers, and soldiers, deploying drones and thermal cameras to track the 30-kilogram runaway. A nearby elementary school shut down over safety concerns. President Lee Jae Myung offered a public prayer for the wolf's safe return. Neukgu kept slipping away despite multiple confirmed sightings.
If convicted, the man faces up to five years in prison or a fine of 10 million Korean won—about $6,700.
