PM Kim Pledges Zero Tolerance for Election Crimes Ahead of Local Elections

SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- Prime Minister Kim Min-seok pledged zero tolerance Wednesday for disinformation, vote-buying and public servants' election interference, saying the government will make sure to bring perpetrators to justice and seek the maximum penalties for them.

Kim made the remark at the start of a meeting of related government ministers convened to discuss measures to ensure fairness in the June 3 local elections that will select provincial governors, mayors and local councilors across the nation. Thousands of posts are up for grabs.

"We will deal sternly and swiftly with three major election crimes," Kim said. "These are clearly grave crimes that violate voters' right to know and distort the democratic process of elections. We will never sit idly by."

In particular, deep-fake election crimes using artificial intelligence are serious, Kim said.

"We will thoroughly track down those involved from the original creator to distributors to make sure to uproot the crime," he said. "The justice ministry, the interior ministry, the prosecution and police should systematically cooperate and deal with perpetrators, with the maximum penalties allowed under law."