Deepfake Scandal Disrupts South Korean Assembly After Lawmaker Uses AI Video of Officials to Warn of AI Misuse
A scandal erupted in South Korea’s National Assembly after Kim Jang-kyun, a lawmaker from the ruling People Power Party, presented a deepfake video depicting senior government officials during a parliamentary session. The AI-generated clip appeared to show a “secret meeting” between Vice Minister Bae Kyung-hoon and former Judicial Committee Chairman Lee Chun-suk.
According to Kim, his intention was to draw attention to the escalating threat of AI misuse and to illustrate how effortlessly convincing fakes can now be produced. However, his colleagues deemed the act provocative and inappropriate for an official legislative proceeding.
The attempt to warn against the dangers of artificial intelligence backfired dramatically. Lawmakers accused Kim himself of blurring the line between an educational demonstration and manipulation, arguing that by using real individuals’ likenesses, he undermined the very point he sought to make.
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The confrontation quickly descended into chaos—members began shouting over one another, forcing the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee to adjourn after just one hour and fifteen minutes.
Kim maintained that “cases of AI abuse and its side effects are countless,” insisting the video was intended purely to raise awareness. Yet the outcome proved the opposite: the Assembly’s focus shifted from the substance of the issue to the scandal itself.
The incident stands as a vivid illustration of how even an effort to expose the perils of deepfake technology can devolve into disinformation.
Such occurrences are becoming increasingly frequent in global politics. In the United Kingdom, for example, more than a hundred videos surfaced online in 2024, featuring former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak “speaking” with an AI-generated voice. Researchers from Fenimore Harper determined that these clips reached over 400,000 users and closely mimicked the style of BBC news reports.
In South Korea, however, the situation carried an ironic twist: a lawmaker who sought to warn the public about the risks of artificial intelligence ultimately became a victim of its consequences—not technologically, but politically.
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