Differences in Lawmakers' Positions on Satellite Party Prevention Bill Discussions
Additional Consultations Scheduled Between Whips
In next year's general election, election campaigns using deepfake technology like 'AI Yoon Seok-yeol' will no longer be allowed.
On the 5th, the National Assembly's Special Committee on Political Reform held a plenary session and passed an amendment to the Public Official Election Act that completely bans election campaigns using promotional videos created with advanced technology. According to the amendment, from January 11 next year, 90 days before the election, election campaigns using promotional videos created with deepfake technology, which synthesizes images of individuals realistically using artificial intelligence (AI), will be prohibited.
In the last presidential election, the campaign committee for presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol gained attention by creating content called AI Yoon Seok-yeol. However, there had been calls for regulation of deepfake content due to concerns that it could spread false information and muddy the election process.
The amendment prohibits the production, editing, distribution, screening, and posting of deepfake videos for election purposes, and violators will be subject to punishment. Furthermore, even outside the election period, deepfake videos must include a notice indicating that the video is fictional, and failure to comply may result in fines.
The Special Committee on Political Reform also amended the Political Funds Act to subdivide the criteria for recommending female candidates for the women's recommendation subsidy and explicitly specify the usage of the subsidy. Additionally, a new Political Parties Act was established to stipulate that the selection of proportional representation candidates must be conducted fairly and transparently through democratic procedures.
On the same day, voices were raised in the Special Committee on Political Reform to refer the Satellite Party Prevention Act, which is pending in the 2nd subcommittee, directly to the plenary session.
Sim Sang-jung, a lawmaker from the Justice Party, stated during a parliamentary procedure speech, "The Satellite Party Prevention Act is pending in the 2nd subcommittee due to opposition from the People Power Party," and requested, "Please refer it directly to the plenary session." Lee Tan-hee, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said, "I submitted a written consent on the 21st of last month requesting the 2nd subcommittee to handle the Satellite Party Prevention Act, but there has been no discussion," and insisted, "It should be handled in the 2nd subcommittee."
Regarding this, the Special Committee on Political Reform agreed that discussions should proceed through an agreement between the ruling and opposition party secretaries for the time being. Additionally, lawmaker Sim argued that related laws should be amended to allow proportional representation candidates to also campaign in primary elections.
The ruling and opposition parties also engaged in a blame game over the failure to finalize the election law with only four months left until the general election. Bae Jun-young of the People Power Party said, "What exactly is the Democratic Party's position? Is it a parallel proportional representation system or a semi-linked proportional representation system?" and urged, "Please quickly clarify your stance on the proportional representation system." Kim Young-bae of the Democratic Party countered, "The Democratic Party is being asked to clarify its position, but the root of the problem is that the People Power Party insists on reverting to the old election law, which has stalled progress on the Democratic Party's negotiation guide of 240 constituency seats and 60 proportional seats with either a linked or mixed linked and parallel system."
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