In fairness, Kuo has NOT announced products that did launch where he didn't have insight on them before hand (or) past production leaks have been inaccurate. Although, even without Kuo's prediction, the SE was never intended to be an annual release iPhone. It's mainstream was offering a low cost iPhone for the demographic who still uses the small form factor, which Apple was wise to retain. But India also does play a role for the SE, but even in India, it's still expensive in their economy.
Also, the leaked photo came from "Weibo", which is another sketchy source with past contradictions. You mentioned it was confirmed a fake, as it's in Chinese, which I'm inclined to believe it is, but I still see the iPhone SE returning in 2018.