The Gyeongnam gubernatorial election has descended into a quagmire of legal and political disputes over deepfake allegations, with policy debate giving way to mudslinging.
The camps of Park Wan-su, the People Power Party candidate, and Kim Kyoung-soo, the Democratic Party candidate, traded fresh accusations Monday over alleged AI deepfake videos and government-backed campaigning, just one day before the June 3 local elections.
Park's camp held a press conference Monday afternoon, fully denying the Democratic Party's claims of government-backed campaigning and the production and distribution of AI-fabricated videos, while demanding Kim withdraw from the race.
"The Democratic Party must stop its false offensive aimed at covering up the informant's shifting statements," said Yoo Hae-nam, chief spokesperson for Park's camp. "Nowhere in the Democratic Party's statement today is there any new evidence — only the informant's one-sided claims and the repackaging of allegations whose facts have not even been verified."
Park's camp pointed in particular to remarks by the informant, identified as Mr. A, who said at a press conference the previous day that "the deepfake videos were made voluntarily" and that "there was no direct instruction to create deepfakes." The camp cited these statements as the core basis for its rebuttal.
"With these words alone, the Democratic Party's central premise — that the Park Wan-su camp systematically directed and distributed illegal deepfakes — has already collapsed," Yoo said. "Whether some officials contacted the informant to discuss content direction or use of materials may be revealed through investigation, but practical-level discussions do not amount to instructions from candidate Park or organized illegal orders at the camp level."
He added, "Working-level discussions for content production and instructions for illegal deepfake production are entirely different matters. If there is direct evidence, release it immediately. If not, withdraw the false and distorted claims and issue a public apology."
Yoo maintained that the camp had no knowledge of an unofficial YouTube channel where more than 30 illegal AI videos had been uploaded. "It is regrettable that an issue unrelated to deciding Gyeongnam's future has swallowed every phase of the campaign, limiting voters' choice," he said.
In contrast, Kim's camp pressed its offensive Monday morning, citing Mr. A's disclosures to call for a swift investigation by law enforcement and a direct explanation from Park.
Citing the informant's press conference, Kim Myung-seop, spokesperson for Kim's camp, said, "Individuals who were local government officials gave specific instructions to produce smear videos targeting candidate Kim Kyoung-soo and provided documents containing attack points designed to damage his policies as reference materials."
"A public official personally handed over an external hard drive containing original and finished video files produced at the provincial government office, in a vehicle right after a meal," he said. "A public official directly providing the raw material for content smearing the opposing candidate is a clear case of government-backed election interference using administrative power."
Citing the informant's direct rebuttal of Park camp's repeated denials of any deepfake task force or instructions, he said, "What is even more serious is that this began before candidate Park even resigned from his post as governor."
Earlier, the informant Mr. A alleged that "a person in charge of Gyeongnam Province's social media operations and working-level staff at a certain company ran a YouTube channel called 'Gyeongnam Issue Pick' and distributed 32 items including deepfake short-form videos edited with AI-generated virtual voices and images." He further alleged that "from the time candidate Park was still in office, at least two organizations and spaces were in operation, even running what amounted to a quasi-campaign office."
"This case began when Mr. A turned himself in to the National Election Commission," spokesperson Kim said. "Since the Election Commission has referred nine individuals to the prosecution for investigation, authorities must swiftly secure the digital evidence and communication records submitted by the informant, along with related materials, and promptly summon and question those involved."
Mr. A had reported the same content disclosed at his press conference to the Gyeongnam Election Commission early last month. JTBC first reported the allegations on May 28, and on May 29 the Gyeongnam Election Commission, based on Mr. A's tip, referred officials from the Park Wan-su camp and nine current and former Gyeongnam provincial government officials to the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office on suspicion of violating the Public Official Election Act.
The two sides have engaged in near-daily exchanges through press conferences and statements since the JTBC report.
