South Korea’s Lee uses AI video to honour shared factory worker past with Brazil’s Lula

South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung marked Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s state visit with an AI-generated video animating their shared past as factory workers, before the two men embraced as heads of state. Lula arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a three-day trip – his first to South Korea in 21 years – with the two countries agreeing at a summit on Monday to elevate ties to a strategic partnership. The 11-second clip, posted to Lee’s social media account on Monday, begins with archival photos of a young Lee and Lula. The images are then animated by AI, their frames fading away as the two embrace, before cutting to present-day footage of the leaders hugging outside South Korea’s presidential residence. “Brother President Lula, I present this video to you,” Lee wrote in the post, which has been viewed over 4 million times. 두 소년공이 대통령이 되어 만났습니다. 상처를 가졌지만 흉터가 아니고, 노동에서 삶의 지혜를 얻었고, 역경을 겪었으나 국민이 구해주셨습니다. 그래서 우리는 형제입니다. 형제 룰라 대통령 (@LulaOficial)에게 이 영상을 선물합니다. pic.twitter.com/nXQYkVdpFg — 이재명 (@Jaemyung_Lee) February 23, 2026 “Two young factory workers became presidents and met together. We share the experience of being wounded, yet we were not scarred,” he said, as reported by The Korea Times. “We gained life’s wisdom through labour, endured hardship and it was the people who saved us. And so, we are brothers.” While working as young labourers, Lee sustained a permanent arm injury and Lula lost a finger in industrial accidents, experiences both have said shaped their views on politics and social justice. In response, Lula reposted the video on his social media account on Tuesday. Lee had personally invited Lula to Seoul during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa last November, and the two leaders have spoken publicly about bonding over shared memories of factory work and workplace injuries in their teens. At their summit on Monday, the leaders agreed to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic partnership and expand cooperation in areas including critical minerals, the environment and defence, the Korea JoongAng Daily reported. Like Lee, politicians around the world have increasingly turned to generative AI to create media to promote themselves or, at times, target their opponents. While previous political videos were often created by third parties, “what’s new in recent months is that campaigns and politicians are using AI-created videos, not just their supporters,” Lisa Fazio, an associate professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University, wrote in The Conversation in December. During Indonesia’s 2024 presidential election, the Golkar party, which backed winning candidate Prabowo Subianto, shared an AI-generated video depicting the late strongman Suharto urging voters to support its candidates, prompting debate over the use of synthetic media in campaigns. The party of former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan also used AI to rally supporters in December 2023, according to a BBC report. Taking text that the jailed ex-leader had written, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party used AI to create a “virtual rally” audio message in his voice. In the four-minute audio message, played over an AI-generated image that appears to be speaking, Khan’s voice clone addresses his “fellow Pakistanis”, saying: “Maybe you all are wondering how I am doing in jail. Today, my determination for real freedom is very strong.” Not all such videos are politically motivated. In January last year, Thaliand’s then-prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, used an AI-generated video – including an AI-rendered Mandarin delivery – to reassure Chinese tourists that her country was improving safety standards amid a drop in travel bookings. “I’ve noticed the recent news about Chinese citizens being lured to fraud-ring hideouts in neighbouring countries, and that has set off widespread worries among tourists about safety and human trafficking,” the AI-generated Shinawatra said in the 92-second spot. “The Thai government attaches great importance to the safety of tourists.”

South Korea’s Lee uses AI video to honour shared factory worker past with Brazil’s Lula

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The gesture accompanied Lula’s state visit to Seoul, where the two leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral ties

The gesture accompanied Lula’s state visit to Seoul, where the two leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral ties