Fair Media National Monitoring Group Holds 8th Grand Debate... Mother Monitoring Group Launches Icheon Headquarters

Third Regional Headquarters Launched Following Hanam and Guri

The Fair Media National Watchdog held the "2026 8th Fair Media Grand Debate" to discuss strategies to address fake news and information distortion during election seasons, AI-generated news, and news produced by one-person media outlets. Following Hanam and Guri, the inauguration ceremony for the Mother Surveillance Group Icheon Headquarters was also held.

On April 15, 2026, the inauguration ceremony for the Mother Surveillance Group Icheon Headquarters and the 8th Fair Media Grand Debate took place at the multipurpose auditorium of the Icheon Youth Life Culture Center in Anheung-dong, Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.

On the 15th, at the multipurpose auditorium of the Icheon Youth Life Culture Center in Anheung-dong, Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, the members appointed as the Mother Surveillance Group took a commemorative photo at the inauguration ceremony of the Mother Surveillance Group Icheon Headquarters. Fair Media National Surveillance Group

At the inauguration ceremony for the Mother Surveillance Group Icheon Headquarters held in the morning, Icheon Branch Head Song Inseon and eight new members were awarded appointment certificates and received surveillance training conducted by Kang Heetaek, Public Relations Officer (New Media Team Leader) of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council. The launch of the Mother Surveillance Group's regional headquarters in Icheon marks the third, following Hanam and Guri.

Kim Kyunghee, Mayor of Icheon, said in a congratulatory video message, "I hope this debate will be a valuable opportunity to establish a relationship between fair media and trusted administration," and added, "Icheon City will do its utmost to create a better society by building fair relationships with the media and fostering trusted administration."

Mayor Kim continued, "I look forward to the continued efforts of the Fair Media National Watchdog and the Mother Surveillance Group, and I will work together so that the media and administration can move toward a trusted and transparent society."

From the left, video capture of congratulatory speeches by Kim Kyunghee, Mayor of Icheon, and Song Seokjun, Member of the National Assembly from the People Power Party. Fair Media Public Watchdog Team

Song Seokjun, Member of the National Assembly from the People Power Party representing Icheon, said in a video message, "I sincerely congratulate you on the inauguration of the Mother Surveillance Group Icheon Headquarters," and remarked, "Now, with citizen participation, you are embarking on an important role to ensure fair elections and the realization of fair media and administration."

He continued, "Various problems caused by fake news and the social damages resulting from information distortion have been significant. I urge you, as members of the surveillance group, to provide sharp criticism and strict monitoring of fake news and unfair media practices. I will stand with you in these efforts."

In the afternoon, the 8th Fair Media and Administration Grand Debate was held.

This debate was centered around the theme, "How can we curb the proliferation of fake news and pseudo-media? - Institutional Reforms and Citizen Surveillance for the Restoration of Fair Media."

The Fair Media National Watchdog stated, "Over the past three years, fake news has evolved beyond mere misinformation, spreading in the form of systematic and repeated information distortion, severely undermining public trust in information across society. In particular, false information is rapidly disseminated through platforms such as YouTube, social media, and short-form videos, creating a structure where public opinion is directly shaped regardless of the truth, and this structure is becoming entrenched."

They added, "This trend becomes even more pronounced ahead of elections. According to data from Gwangju MBC and the Gwangju Metropolitan Election Commission, during just two months in February and March 2026, there were 104 cases of AI deepfake violations detected in Gwangju and approximately 1,500 cases in Jeollanam-do, highlighting the seriousness of false information proliferation during election periods."

The Watchdog pointed out, "The problem is that this kind of false and distorted information does not remain an isolated deviation of some content. Currently, unverified media outlets and inadequately vetted reporters continue to operate without substantial institutional oversight, and it is becoming commonplace for unsubstantiated claims or unilateral allegations to be packaged as news articles, repeatedly harming readers."

They continued, "This event was organized to strengthen citizen participation-based surveillance systems through the launch of the Mother Surveillance Group Icheon Headquarters, to comprehensively diagnose the structures and perceptions surrounding the spread of fake news during election seasons, and to discuss realistic response strategies such as criteria for establishing media outlets, operational management and oversight, journalist qualification verification, and the construction of citizen surveillance systems." The statement also explained, "Furthermore, the purpose is to create a practical foundation for local community responses and to provide a momentum for institutional reforms and the spread of social consensus for the recovery of a fair media ecosystem."

On the 15th, Song Seyong, the Youth Leader of the Fair Media National Watchdog, delivered the keynote speech at the 8th Fair Media Grand Debate held at the Multipurpose Auditorium of the Icheon Youth Life Culture Center in Anheung-dong, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do. Screenshot from the Fair Media National Watchdog YouTube video

Song Seyong, Youth Leader of the Fair Media National Watchdog who oversaw the preparation of the event, said in his keynote speech, "There have been seven debates so far. Today's 8th debate was organized to take a fresh look at the realities of the media environment in our society, based on the issues we have accumulated and the observations from the field, and to seek practical solutions."

He stated, "Since it is election season, there are many cases where false or incorrect information confuses voters. Today's debate focused on reviewing such cases and exploring ways to avoid and address them."

Song continued, "If the structure that enables the proliferation of fake news is repeated, it is ultimately the citizens and readers who suffer. The renowned British writer and journalist George Orwell once sharply observed, 'Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations.' Considering the current state of our society, I believe we need news outlets that are not subject to such criticism."

He further said, "What I want to emphasize today is clear: we must diagnose the impact of fake news on the election environment and the damage it causes to social trust, and examine how one-person channels and local media outlets on emerging platforms produce and spread false information."

Song added, "The launch of the Icheon Headquarters holds special meaning for me. The growing number of people who view citizen surveillance positively, beginning in Hanam, signifies that more people are actively discerning information rather than passively accepting it, which I find significant."

He continued, "There is a saying, 'Institutions cannot last long without citizen surveillance, and civic groups lose strength without institutional connection.' I hope today's gathering lays the foundation for both pillars."

Finally, he said, "Fair media does not come about automatically. We must set standards so that irresponsible media and false information cannot recklessly squander public trust, and citizens must vigilantly oversee this process. I hope today's debate serves as an in-depth diagnosis of the structure of fake news and distorted reporting and becomes a practical starting point for institutional reforms and citizen surveillance aimed at restoring fair media."

This debate was moderated by civic activist Ahn Jingul, with panelists including Kang Heetaek, New Media Team Leader at the Gyeonggi Provincial Council; Lee Seongbeom, Secretary-General of the People's Sovereignty Guri Assembly; Attorney Kim Dongseop of YK Law Firm; Attorney Chang Cheolhee of BIEL Law Office; Kang Byeongtak, CEO of AI Spera and ICT expert; and Hong Mira, Executive Director of Hanam Climate Crisis Emergency Action.

During the debate, Team Leader Kang Heetaek drew attention by explaining the harms of fake news and the problems of pseudo-media, based on his experience as a reporter and his firsthand experience placing advertisements with the media at the Gyeonggi Provincial Council.

Kang Byeongtak, CEO of AI Spera, shared his experience of becoming the head of a cybersecurity company after working at a gaming company and lecturing at a university. He also shared tips for avoiding voice phishing, stating, "If you receive a suspicious video call suspected of being AI-enabled phishing, ask the caller to show three fingers. While this method may eventually be circumvented, as of now, most scammers will end up showing four or five fingers instead of three."

On the 15th, Attorney Kim Dongseop of YK Law Firm presenting at the 8th Fair Media Grand Debate held by the Fair Media Citizens Watchdog Group at the multipurpose auditorium of the Icheon Youth Life Culture Center in Anheung-dong, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do. Fair Media Citizens Watchdog Group

Attorney Kim Dongseop of YK Law Firm, who majored in physics at university and holds a patent attorney license, said, "Fake articles generated through generative artificial intelligence (AI) have emerged as a serious challenge, threatening the entirety of national democracy and the judicial system." He added, "In particular, the number of illegal posts using deepfakes during election periods has surged approximately 27-fold in a single year, distorting rational political decision-making by voters and intensifying social polarization."

He went on to say, "Even if efforts are made to apply the current punitive legal system to counter this proliferation of fake articles, the nature of AI technology, which lacks clear legal entities, means that post-facto punishment alone faces clear limitations."

Attorney Kim stressed, "Moreover, if fake articles are hastily defined as illegal information and sanctioned uniformly, there is a risk that such measures could become tools to suppress citizens' constitutional rights to rational criticism and freedom of expression. Therefore, the regulatory paradigm should shift away from punishing end-users and instead reinforce the accountability and self-regulation of platform operators that provide information distribution channels."

He further emphasized, "With the mandatory labeling system under the 'Basic Act on Artificial Intelligence,' which has been in effect since 2026, information transparency should be enhanced; however, to prevent the contraction of broadcasting and creative industries, it is essential to introduce flexible systems such as invisible watermarks. Ultimately, only through an organic combination of technical safeguards established by developers, platform cooperation, and citizens' critical media literacy—from data training to vulnerability checks—can we fully protect technological innovation and democracy."

On the 15th, Chang Cheolhee, a lawyer at BIEL Law Office, presenting at the '8th Fair Media Grand Debate' held at the multipurpose auditorium of the Icheon Youth Life Culture Center in Anheung-dong, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do. Fair Media National Watchdog Group

Attorney Chang Cheolhee of BIEL Law Office stated, "Regarding the harms of fake news, current laws provide for criminal punishment under the Information and Communications Network Act (Article 70), criminal defamation under the Criminal Act (Article 307), and violations of the Public Official Election Act (Article 250). There are also institutional remedies under the Act on Press Arbitration, such as correction, rebuttal, and follow-up reports, administrative measures such as orders from the Korea Communications Standards Commission to block access to harmful information, and civil remedies like injunctions to prohibit reporting, deletion of posts, and claims for damages."

Attorney Chang continued, "However, since freedom of expression has been established as a constitutional right won through a history of struggle against power, preemptive regulation to control the harms of false news in the media is inherently limited as a means of prior restraint, and even these measures can sometimes prove inadequate as effective solutions."

He pointed out, "With technological advances and media diversification, so-called pseudo-media—business models that easily fall into regulatory blind spots, such as YouTube, social media platforms, blogs, and other one-person media—are rapidly expanding their negative impact. Especially, the spread of false information using AI tools such as deepfakes and deep voices carries risks that threaten the very foundation of democracy."

To address the damages caused by such pseudo-media, Attorney Chang proposed the introduction of the concept and regulation of "quasi-media."

He explained, "From a legislative perspective, we should introduce the concept of 'quasi-media' to expand the scope of the Act on Press Arbitration, and introduce strong regulations such as immediate expulsion (One-Strike Out system) and punitive damages for malicious misinformation. In connection with the enforcement of the Basic Act on Artificial Intelligence since 2026, there is also a need to strengthen and refine the punishment criteria under the Information and Communications Network Protection Act and the Public Official Election Act."

The debate was broadcast live through the Fair Media National Watchdog YouTube channel.

On the 15th, after the 'Mother's Watchdog Icheon Headquarters Inauguration Ceremony' and the '8th Fair Media Grand Debate' held at the multipurpose auditorium of the Icheon Youth Life Culture Center in Anheung-dong, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, attendees are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by Seokjin Choi

Launched in 2020 with the motto "Creating a trusted society through fair media and transparent administration," the Fair Media National Watchdog was elevated to a public interest organization in 2023. In addition to consistently hosting fair media debates to promote fair local media and administration, it also carries out activities such as social oversight through the regional branches of the Mother Surveillance Group, monitoring the media environment, protecting fair media outlets and journalists, and curbing unfair practices in the media.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.