Police Department strictly investigates election false information and 176 people are brought to justice

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, there are endless cases of using highly realistic AI deepfake videos to influence the election. In order to maintain the fairness of the election, the National Police Agency has comprehensively upgraded its technological investigation capabilities and launched investigations into attempts to use false videos to manipulate public opinion and mislead voters. So far, police agencies across the country have investigated 219 related cases, and 134 of them, involving a total of 176 persons, have been transferred to the prosecutor for investigation in accordance with the law.

The Police Department stated that the dissemination of false information has now transcended the scope of pure text and images, and has evolved into deep forgery technology that can realistically imitate candidates' voiceprints and images. This type of false content often fabricates controversial speeches or events out of thin air, and spreads rapidly using major social platforms and communication software such as Facebook, Threads, YouTube, etc., which not only seriously damages the rights of candidates, but also directly affects the fairness of democratic elections.

In this regard, the police have introduced AI deep fake detection, digital forensics and Internet intelligence analysis tools. Once suspected illegal and false content is discovered, they will quickly collect evidence and trace the source of the release, without any leniency.

Regarding the prevention and countermeasures mechanism, the Police Administration stated that if candidates find that their voices or images have been fraudulently used, they can apply for professional forensics from the Criminal Police Bureau. As long as the content is confirmed to be deep forgery, the victim candidate can submit a processing request to the "Election AI Deep Fake Information Notification Network" of the Ministry of Digital Development. After receiving the request, major online platforms should complete the processing of restricting browsing, removing or delisting within 2 days in accordance with the law to prevent the continued spread of false information.

The Police Department reminded that according to Article 104 of the Public Officers Election and Recall Act, anyone who spreads false information with the intention of causing a specific candidate to be elected or not elected, which is enough to harm the public or others, may be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison; if he further commits the crime by distributing or broadcasting deep fake videos of candidates, the penalty will be increased to up to 7 years in prison. We urge the public to verify any video or audio posts of unknown origin or with sensational content during the election period through official channels, and do not trust them or repost them at will, to avoid accidentally touching the law.