President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks at the 79th Police Day ceremony held at the Korean National Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on Monday. (Pool photo via Yonhap)

President Yoon Suk Yeol urged police on Monday to step up their efforts to crack down on crimes affecting ordinary people, as well as new types of crimes emerging from advanced technologies like artificial intelligence.

Yoon expressed concerns over new crimes enabled by AI, as well as illegal drugs and online gambling, during a commemorative speech marking the 79th Police Day.

“To keep the public safe, the police must develop faster, become more proactive (and implement more scientific technologies),” said Yoon.

Stating that sticking to traditional ways of policing make it difficult to protect and guarantee safety for the public, Yoon added that the police “must drastically enhance their advanced investigative capabilities in line with the rapid pace of technological development.“

“The police should also accelerate the development of identification systems for fake and manipulated content, such as deepfakes,” Yoon said, in relation to the flood of sex crimes that have emerged based on AI-based deepfake technology. “Police should work in collaboration with relevant agencies to eradicate digital sex crimes.”

Toward the end of August, the number of cases of sex crimes involving the creation, distribution and possession of deepfakes exploded in South Korea, fueling concerns about the regulation of AI. On Aug. 27, Yoon called for a thorough investigation and identification of digital sex crimes involving deepfake pornography, which prompted relevant ministries to take preventive measures as well as the National Assembly to approve bills to strengthen punishment against such crimes.

For other crimes such as stalking, domestic violence and child abuse, Yoon urged for the law to be vigorously enforced as soon as cases are reported to “break the perpetrators’ will to commit further crimes.”

“Through careful monitoring procedures, the police must work to prevent recidivism while also working to build a stronger safety net to protect the victims through referrals to shelters and psychological counseling support,” added Yoon.

Yoon also asked the police to act firmly against fake news, further stating that the government will provide “active support in developing cutting-edge technologies to detect altered news content while also ensuring that laws and systems are in place” to support the police‘s work.

“While it is important to punish crimes after they occur, it is even more important to prevent them in advance,” said Yoon. Calling on mobile patrol units and mobile detective divisions, which were newly formed in February, Yoon asked the units to “closely detect unrest and respond quickly to moments of urgency once public safety is threatened.”

“Without the security of the people, we cannot protect their freedom and our prosperity cannot continue,” Yoon concluded.

Promising to improve the general treatment of police officials and immunity, Yoon added: “The government will provide more active support, in line with your sense of duty and dedication.”

Meanwhile, the 79th Police Day ceremony was held at the Korean National Police Agency for the first time in 19 years since 2005. According to the Presidential Office, this is the first time a sitting president has visited the headquarters since former President Lee Myung-bak in 2012.

The ceremony was attended by more than 460 people, including commissioner-general of the KNPA Cho Ji-ho, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, as well as honorary police officials, families of police who died on duty and representatives of police forces from 33 different countries.