With 7 days to go until the 9th nationwide local elections, more than 10,000 requests have been filed to delete posts suspected of violating electioneering rules by using deepfakes.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety held a working-level meeting among inter-agency bodies responding to false and fake news at the Government Complex Seoul on Wednesday afternoon, chaired by Vice Minister Kim Min-jae (김민재). It followed a May 8 meeting of the government-wide consultative body on false and fake news chaired by Minister Yoon Ho-jung and a May 20 meeting of ministers related to fair elections.

Requests to delete posts that allegedly violated electioneering rules by using deepfakes totalled 10,319 as of May 27, according to the ministry. With 7 days left until election day, the figure is expected to surpass the total number of deletion requests during the 21st presidential election period, which stood at 10,510.

Police said 921 people had been caught as of May 27 on suspicion of black propaganda such as false and fake news. The number increased by 550 since the first meeting of ministers related to fair elections, when the cumulative tally stood at 371 as of April 13, averaging 12.5 people a day.

The government is working in close cooperation with related agencies, including the Korea National Police Agency and the Korea Communications Commission, to detect and delete fake news and to pursue complaints and investigations. It is also working closely with the National Election Commission to share related information and coordinate fake news takedowns.

The Korea Communications Commission is operating a public-private joint consultative body on voluntary self-regulation until the local elections end, to ensure platform operators swiftly delete fake news and block user access. Police have raised the election-crime response level to the highest since May 14 and are intensively investigating online media outlets suspected of maliciously spreading false and fake news. Local and provincial governments are conducting dedicated investigations into election crimes involving deepfakes.

Kim said, "Fake news is a crime that denies democracy and an obstacle that blocks social integration," adding, "We will respond swiftly and strictly through close cooperation among related agencies until the election ends."