Election crimes demand fair investigations

Election crimes, whether they involve smearing opponents with false claims, trading money for political favors or destroying campaign materials, are not ordinary offenses. They strike at the integrity of the democratic process itself. On April 14, 50 days before the June 3 local elections, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok pledged a zero-tolerance approach, promising firm action against election-related offenses ranging from AI-generated disinformation and election violence to unlawful intervention by public officials.

The surge in deepfake-related election misconduct has made fair and thorough investigations more important than ever. In Ulsan, a prospective district mayoral candidate was fined 5 million won and referred to police after posting an AI-generated Facebook video in March that falsely suggested Time magazine had named him a "leader who captured the world's attention." In the South Gyeongsang gubernatorial race, People Power Party candidate Park Wan-soo and Democratic Party of Korea candidate Kim Kyoung-soo are disputing allegations involving the production and circulation of deepfake videos. Those claims must be fully examined and clearly resolved, regardless of when the findings emerge.

According to the Ministry of Justice, black propaganda linked to deepfake election crimes has increased by about 50% from the level seen in the local elections four years ago. The number of candidates running in this year's elections has also risen to 7,829, up 213 from four years earlier, across races for governors, mayors, local councils, superintendents of education and National Assembly by-elections. Given those figures, the number of election offenders booked by authorities, which fell from 4,207 in 2018 to 3,790 in 2022, could rise again this year.

Election crime investigations must be conducted with exceptional fairness because the consequences are far-reaching. Even after winning office, candidates can lose their seats if convicted of election law violations. In the 2022 local elections alone, 134 elected officials were brought to trial on election-related charges. When an election must be rerun because a winner is disqualified, taxpayers bear the cost. That is a loss for the public as well as for the political system.

Time is another challenge. Election crimes carry a statute of limitations of just six months, leaving investigators little room for delay. As South Korea transitions to a restructured criminal justice system, close coordination among investigative agencies will be essential. The Public Prosecution Service and the Major Crimes Investigation Office are expected to launch before the statute of limitations for June 3 election offenses expires on Dec. 3. Authorities must prepare now to ensure that no investigative vacuum emerges during the transition.

Recent experience offers a warning. Prosecutors and police repeatedly clashed over an investigation into allegations that HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk engaged in fraudulent trading under the Capital Markets Act. Disputes over jurisdiction prolonged the process, and investigators took seven months after the initial questioning to seek an arrest warrant. Even then, warrant applications were rejected and resubmitted, and the investigation remains unresolved 18 months later. A separate probe into 13 allegations surrounding independent lawmaker Kim Byung-ki, including claims involving nomination-related payments, has dragged on for nine months. If election crime investigations follow the same path, neither suspects nor voters will have confidence in the outcome. Investigations into election offenses must be thorough, timely and free of any lingering doubt.