diff --git a/.github/workflows/publish-gh-image.yml b/.github/workflows/publish-gh-image.yml
index f734c768c..775901441 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/publish-gh-image.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/publish-gh-image.yml
@@ -1,63 +1,117 @@
 name: Create, Scan and Publish KAITO image
 on:
-  workflow_run:
-    workflows: [ "Push image to ACR" ]
-    types: [ completed ]
+  workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      release_version:
+        description: 'tag to be created for this image (i.e. vxx.xx.xx)'
+        required: true
+  pull_request:
+    types: [ closed ]
+
 
 permissions:
+  id-token: write
   contents: write
   packages: write
 
 env:
-  REGISTRY: ghcr.io
   GO_VERSION: '1.20'
   IMAGE_NAME: 'workspace'
+  REGISTRY: ghcr.io
 
 jobs:
-  publish-images:
-    if: ${{ github.event.workflow_run.conclusion == 'success' }}
+  check-tag:
+    if: >-
+      github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch' ||
+      (
+        github.event_name == 'pull_request' &&
+        github.event.pull_request.merged == true && 
+        contains(github.event.pull_request.title, 'update manifest and helm charts')
+       )
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     environment: preset-env
     outputs:
-      tag: ${{ steps.get-registry.outputs.registry }}
+      tag: ${{ steps.get-tag.outputs.tag }}
+    steps:
+      - name: validate version
+        if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
+        run: |
+          echo "${{ github.event.inputs.release_version }}" | grep -E 'v[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$'
+
+      - id: get-tag
+        name: Get tag
+        run: |
+          if [[ ${{ github.event_name }} == 'workflow_dispatch' ]]; then
+            echo "tag=$(echo ${{ github.event.inputs.release_version }})" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          else
+            echo "tag=$(echo ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }} | tr -d release-)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          fi
+
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - id: check-tag
+        name: Check for Tag
+        run: |
+          TAG="${{ steps.get-tag.outputs.tag }}"
+          if git show-ref --tags --verify --quiet "refs/tags/${TAG}"; then
+            echo "create_tag=$(echo 'false' )" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          else
+            echo "create_tag=$(echo 'true' )" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          fi
+      - name: 'Create tag'
+        if:  steps.check-tag.outputs.create_tag == 'true'
+        uses: actions/github-script@v7
+        with:
+          script: |
+            github.rest.git.createRef({
+              owner: context.repo.owner,
+              repo: context.repo.repo,
+              ref: 'refs/tags/${{ steps.get-tag.outputs.tag }}',
+              sha: context.sha
+            })
+
+  build-scan-publish-gh-images:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    needs: [ check-tag ]
+    environment: preset-env
     steps:
       - id: get-registry
         run: |
           # registry must be in lowercase
-          echo " registry=$(echo "${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ github.repository }}" | tr [:upper:] [:lower:])" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+          echo "registry_repository=$(echo "${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ github.repository }}" | tr [:upper:] [:lower:])" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
       - id: get-tag
         name: Get tag
-        run: echo "release_tag=$(echo ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.ref }} | tr -d release-)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+        run: |
+          echo "IMG_TAG=$(echo ${{ needs.check-tag.outputs.tag }} | tr -d v)" >> $GITHUB_ENV
 
       - uses: actions/checkout@b4ffde65f46336ab88eb53be808477a3936bae11 # v4.1.1
         with:
           submodules: true
           fetch-depth: 0
-          ref: ${{ steps.get-tag.outputs.release_tag }}
+          ref: ${{ needs.check-tag.outputs.tag }}
 
-      - name: Login to ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
+      - name: Login to ${{ steps.get-registry.outputs.registry_repository }}
         uses: docker/login-action@343f7c4344506bcbf9b4de18042ae17996df046d
         with:
           registry: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}
           username: ${{ github.actor }}
           password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
-      - name: Set Image tag
-        run: |
-          ver=${{ steps.get-tag.outputs.release_tag }}
-          echo "IMG_TAG=${ver#"v"}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-
       - name: Build image
         run: |
           OUTPUT_TYPE=type=registry make docker-build-kaito
         env:
-          VERSION: ${{ steps.get-tag.outputs.release_tag }}
+          VERSION: ${{ needs.check-tag.outputs.tag }}
+          REGISTRY: ${{ steps.get-registry.outputs.registry_repository }}
 
-      - name: Scan ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}:${{ env.IMG_TAG }}
+      - name: Scan ${{ steps.get-registry.outputs.registry_repository }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}:${{ env.IMG_TAG }}
         uses: aquasecurity/trivy-action@master
         with:
-          image-ref: ${{ env.REGISTRY }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}:${{ env.IMG_TAG }}
+          image-ref: ${{ steps.get-registry.outputs.registry_repository }}/${{ env.IMAGE_NAME }}:${{ env.IMG_TAG }}
           format: 'table'
           exit-code: '1'
           ignore-unfixed: true
@@ -69,13 +123,13 @@ jobs:
           TRIVY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
   run-e2e-gh-image:
-    needs: [publish-images]
+    needs: [ check-tag, build-scan-publish-gh-images ]
     uses: ./.github/workflows/e2e-workflow.yml
     with:
       git_sha: ${{ github.sha }}
       isRelease: true
-      registry: ${{ steps.get-registry.outputs.registry }}
-      tag: ${{ steps.get-tag.outputs.release_tag }}
+      registry: ${{ needs.get-registry.outputs.registry_repository }}
+      tag: ${{ needs.check-tag.outputs.tag }}
     secrets:
       E2E_CLIENT_ID: ${{ secrets.AZURE_CLIENT_ID }}
       E2E_TENANT_ID: ${{ secrets.AZURE_TENANT_ID }}
@@ -84,14 +138,14 @@ jobs:
       E2E_ACR_AMRT_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.ACR_AMRT_USERNAME }}
       E2E_ACR_AMRT_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.ACR_AMRT_PASSWORD }}
 
-  create-release:
+  publish-mcr-image:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     environment: preset-env
-    needs: [run-e2e-gh-image]
+    needs: [ check-tag, run-e2e-gh-image ]
     steps:
       - name: 'Dispatch release tag'
         uses: peter-evans/repository-dispatch@v3
         with:
           token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-          event-type: create-release
-          client-payload: '{"tag": "v${{ env.IMG_TAG }}"}'
+          event-type: publish-mcr-image
+          client-payload: '{"tag": "${{ needs.check-tag.outputs.tag }}"}'