South Korea: Police launch massive crackdown on sex crimes committed using deepfake technology

The National Police Agency said that during the seven-month campaign, which is scheduled to start on Wednesday, police will aggressively pursue those who produce and publish such images, especially those of children and teenagers.

According to the police agency, 297 cases of deepfake sexual exploitation crimes were reported across the country from January to July. Of the 178 people charged, 73.6 percent, or 113 people, were teenagers.

Political parties and rights groups have also called for tougher penalties and active investigations.

“Concerns are rising as the number of members in fake porn chat rooms on Telegram is estimated to be around 220,000,” said Son Seol, co-chair of the small opposition Progressive Party’s working group, commenting on the issue.

The revelation of these chatrooms has sparked public fear after many of them on Telegram were suspected of creating and distributing fake and fabricated pornographic material of ordinary women. The victims have included minors, university students, teachers, and even female military officers.

The Sexual Assault Counseling Center, affiliated with the Korea Military Human Rights Center, a rights group for soldiers, urged the Defense Ministry to track down and strictly punish those involved in deepfake crimes targeting female soldiers.

“The perpetrators used images of female soldiers in uniform simply to treat them as sexual objects,” the advisory center added, comparing the crime to the Japanese military’s sexual slavery.

Meanwhile, Women Link, a feminist group, denounced the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s efforts to abolish the Ministry of Gender Affairs, urging the government to come up with a comprehensive plan to address the country’s gender discrimination and structural violence against women.

Source: Yonhap