Seoul: Prime Minister Kim Min-seok instructed the government Tuesday to crack down on the spread of disinformation ahead of the June 3 local elections, calling it a challenge to democracy and a clear crime.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim gave the order at a meeting with relevant ministers and officials, noting it was convened more than a month earlier than usual with the elections 50 days away. "The reason is that with the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence technology, disinformation, such as fake news, and deepfake videos and voice recordings, is becoming increasingly sophisticated and spreading wide within short periods of time, posing a large threat to a fair election environment," he said.
The prime minister instructed the National Police Agency to carry out intensive crackdowns on pseudo-media that spread disinformation, while calling on the science ministry and the Korea Media and Communications Commission to work to promptly block such falsehoods at an early stage in close cooperation with major platform operators. "Fake news is not freedom of expression," he said. "It is a challenge to democracy and a clear criminal act."