Police on Wednesday opened situation rooms nationwide to investigate possible election irregularities or interference, such as the use of deepfake content, ahead of the April 10 general elections. 

National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun said on the day that the 278 around-the-clock situation rooms will be used to crack down on five major offenses that seriously violate fairness in elections.

The five major offenses it aims to target are bribery, dissemination of false information, election intervention by public officials, violence during elections and mobilization of illegal groups.

The commissioner stressed that stern measures will also be taken against emerging threats involving deepfake images or cyber terrorism.

The government has been cracking down on misuse of deepfakes, with a revision to the Public Official Election Act putting a 90-day ban on use of AI generated deepfakes during the election season.