Nuisance no more: Korean political parties embrace AI ahead of local elections
Published: 06 May. 2026, 07:00
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok explains about its AI campaign manager application at the National Assembly on March 9. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/06/fb3c34ee-981d-4161-be51-82991bb13cdf.jpg)
Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok explains about its AI campaign manager application at the National Assembly on March 9. [YONHAP]
AI, once treated as a nuisance during elections because of deepfakes, is taking on a different role ahead of the June 3 local races as campaigns embrace the technology, deploying it for everything from nomination screening and campaign routes to content production.
Political parties are rolling out local election strategies using AI, according to political sources on Monday.
The Reform Party even developed its own app, called AI Campaign Manager, which analyzes floating population data by region to suggest GPS-based campaign routes. It even includes a chatbot that answers questions about election law.
“Hiring one campaign manager costs millions of won, and consulting costs tens of millions of won, leaving only people with money or connections in politics,” Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok said in March, explaining why the app was developed.
The party also introduced an AI YouTube Shorts production program last month. The program automatically completes subtitles and edits the moment a candidate speaks at a campaign site, allowing the person to create video content on the spot without a separate filming team.
![An electronic display showing the number of days remaining until the June 3 local elections is installed at the Election Commission in Jongno District, central Seoul, on May 3. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/06/966d5f32-c4d4-4de1-8c40-4490bb546f81.jpg)
An electronic display showing the number of days remaining until the June 3 local elections is installed at the Election Commission in Jongno District, central Seoul, on May 3. [NEWS1]
Campaign manager, promoter and even brains
AI is moving beyond a promotional tool and becoming part of the election management infrastructure. The technology is being adopted across party lines, from pledge analysis and candidate vetting to policy proposal organization.
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) introduced an AI tool on its local election website that helps voters learn about candidates and propose policies to them. When voters submit policy ideas, AI organizes them into summaries, key points and expected effects, then delivers them to candidates.
Voters can also check candidates’ profiles, summaries of their pledges and even AI-predicted MBTI personality types and leadership styles. MBTI refers to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test.
![Seoul residents wait to cast their ballots at a polling station in Gangbuk District, northern Seoul, on June 3, the day of Korea's 21st presidential election. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/06/f8e44ba4-f1fb-42fc-a343-4256f68f3350.jpg)
Seoul residents wait to cast their ballots at a polling station in Gangbuk District, northern Seoul, on June 3, the day of Korea's 21st presidential election. [NEWS1]
“Starting with these local elections, we plan to fully introduce AI into election-related work going forward,” a DP official said.
The opposition People Power Party (PPP) earlier used an AI-based political credit evaluation model during its nomination process.
AI quantifies and compares applicants’ contributions to the party, public activities in their regions and ethical standards, while optical character recognition (OCR) technology automatically identifies key items in submitted documents and cross-checks them against application forms. OCR technology converts documents or text images into machine-readable digital texts.
“The system minimized errors that can occur under the previous manual verification-centered approach, while improving both the speed and accuracy of administrative processing,” the PPP said.
![Albanian experts work at the National Agency for Information Society as AI-generated minister, Diella, is seen on screens in Albania on Sept. 12, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/06/9d60ea06-11c7-4be2-ae19-ed45d441a521.jpg)
Albanian experts work at the National Agency for Information Society as AI-generated minister, Diella, is seen on screens in Albania on Sept. 12, 2025. [AP/YONHAP]
AI in global politics
AI is also being actively used in elections overseas.
In Japan’s House of Representatives election last month, Team Mirai, a political party founded by AI engineer Takahiro Anno, which campaigned under the slogan “political decision-making using AI,” won 11 seats — a significant achievement for a party just nine months old.
“We need to increase Nagatacho’s processing speed tenfold,” said the party leader Anno, referring to the Tokyo neighborhood where Japan's legislature is located.
There is even a case where AI has become an actual politician.
In Albania, the world’s first AI minister was appointed in September last year. The AI, named Diella, meaning sun in Albanian, was tasked with making decisions on government public tenders without human intervention.
![A woman looks at a phone as she uses the Albanian government portal E-Albania, now assisted by government AI cabinet minister avatar Diella″ in Tirana, Albania, on Sept. 12, 2025. [AFP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/06/caee36b0-5a33-4635-a8af-0db7a897154c.jpg)
A woman looks at a phone as she uses the Albanian government portal E-Albania, now assisted by government AI cabinet minister avatar Diella″ in Tirana, Albania, on Sept. 12, 2025. [AFP/YONHAP]
“Diella is a virtually created Cabinet member,” Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said. “It will help prevent corruption in public tenders and improve government transparency.”
Though AI has emerged as a potential solution to lowering barriers to entry in election campaigns, concerns over side effects remain.
Methods of manipulating public opinion using AI, including deepfakes, are becoming increasingly sophisticated during each election season. In the United States, fake campaign videos of candidates made with deepfake technology are spreading ahead of the midterm elections in November.
Daniel Schiff, a Purdue University professor, told Reuters that the growing use of political content that spreads misinformation risks further eroding U.S. voter trust in institutions.
"I think that the types of damage that we can do to the rigor and credibility of elections and democratic systems — and the ability to misinform people about candidates or social issues — very much risks being supercharged," he said.
BY CHANG YOON-SEO [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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