Seoul: Prime Minister Kim Min-seok pledged zero tolerance Wednesday for disinformation, vote-buying, and public servants' election interference, emphasizing the government's commitment to bringing perpetrators to justice and seeking maximum penalties. This statement was made during a meeting with government ministers to discuss measures ensuring fairness in the June 3 local elections, which will elect provincial governors, mayors, and local councilors nationwide. Thousands of positions will be contested.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kim highlighted the seriousness of three major election crimes, stating, "These are clearly grave crimes that violate voters' right to know and distort the democratic process of elections. We will never sit idly by." The Prime Minister specifically addressed the threat posed by deep-fake election crimes involving artificial intelligence (AI), emphasizing the need to trace and hold accountable everyone involved from creators to distributors.
Kim underscored the importance of systematic cooperation among the justice ministry, interior ministry, prosecution, and police in dealing with offenders and applying the maximum penalties permitted by law. In a separate public address, Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung and Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho echoed Kim's commitment to combating the spread of fake news related to the upcoming elections.
Yun declared the government's determination to ensure the elections are the fairest and cleanest in the nation's constitutional history. Justice Minister Jung stated that the ministry, along with the prosecution, plans to employ digital forensic investigative methods to track down sources of false information, including AI-generated fake reports.