Seoul, Feb 19 : With less than 50 days remaining until South Korea's parliamentary elections in April, concerns over the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated deepfake videos and images are mounting, prompting heightened vigilance from election authorities.

According to the National Election Commission (NEC), the country's election watchdog, 129 pieces AI-generated media content had been detected from January 29 to the end of last week, constituting a violation of the newly revised election law. 

This law prohibits the use of deepfakes for electoral campaigning purposes, with penalties of up to seven years in prison or fines of 10 million won ($7,500) for offenders, reports Yonhap news agency. 

The NEC's crackdown on deepfakes represents a proactive response to the evolving landscape of disinformation, as facilitated by advancements in AI technology. 

The revised legislation, passed by the National Assembly in December, aims to curb the spread of false information and safeguard the integrity of the electoral process against emerging threats. 

Deepfake manipulations have already been used in past elections, both domestically and internationally, raising concerns those AI-created videos and images are one of the biggest threats to democracy, especially in the form of fake news and misleading public opinion. 

For instance, during the provincial elections in 2022, an AI-generated video circulated on social media depicting President Yoon Suk Yeol endorsing a local candidate from the ruling party.