Ministerial Meeting on Countering Fake News
With less than 100 days left until the 9th Nationwide Local Elections on June 3, Prime Minister Kim Minseok stated on February 26, "Those individuals and groups who create politically motivated false slander and fake news will never be tolerated, regardless of their status or position."
Prime Minister Kim Minseok is speaking at a ministers' meeting on countering fake news, including AI misuse, held at the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Feb. 26, 2026. Yonhap News Agency
Presiding over the "Ministerial Meeting on Countering Fake News" at the Government Complex Seoul on the morning of the same day, Prime Minister Kim said, "Fake news and smear campaigns that distort government policies, falsely slander government officials, and malign specific candidates or political parties ahead of various elections or primaries are a public enemy of democracy." He stressed, "Regardless of the form or pretext, acts of intentionally creating and distributing fake news that disrupt the political and electoral order must be dealt with strictly in accordance with the law and principles."
The task of serving as the control tower for responding to fake news will be handled by the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission. The meeting was attended by Bae Gyeonghun, Deputy Prime Minister for Science and Minister of Science and ICT; Justice Minister Jeong Seongho; Interior and Safety Minister Yoon Hojoong; Kim Jongcheol, Chairperson of the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission; Gu Jahyun, Acting Prosecutor General; and Yu Jaeseong, Acting Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, among others.
Addressing investigative authorities such as the prosecution and the police, Prime Minister Kim called for "rooting out fake news through thorough investigations." In this regard, Acting Prosecutor General Gu Jahyun announced a "Joint Prosecutors-Police Statement on Responding to Fake News, Including the Misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI)" on the same day, saying, "The prosecution will mobilize all possible means to respond strictly to election offenders who spread fake news." He added, "There are concerns that election crimes exploiting 'fake news' will surge further as election day draws nearer." The prosecution plans to use investigative techniques, including scientific investigation, to uncover election offenses and to track crimes that use overseas servers through international judicial cooperation.
Acting Commissioner General of the National Police Agency Yu Jaeseong also said on the same day, "In particular, for election crimes using deepfakes, we will trace the distribution channels and strictly punish the original distributors and producers," and urged, "Please refrain from sharing information of unclear origin and report any suspicious content to the relevant authorities."
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