South Korea cracks down on deepfake crimes targeting women

Police in South Korea have detained a man in his twenties suspected of creating 4,313 pornographic videos using deepfake technology, utilizing the images of 72 well-known women. Crimes of this nature are becoming increasingly common.

Police in South Korea have detained a man in his twenties suspected of creating 4,313 pornographic videos using the images of 72 well-known women through deepfake technology. According to local media, crimes of this nature are becoming more frequent in the country.

According to Yonhap agency, the man produced these videos using his own program based on generative artificial intelligence. Police have determined that from January to March this year, he earned around 2,800 USD from selling these files online.

South Korea is grappling with a rise in the number of sexual crimes online. According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, from January 1 to August 25 of this year, 781 victims of deepfakes sought help at the Sexual Violence Victim Protection Center on the internet, of which 288 (36.9%) were minors.

The Yonhap agency also reported that a 30-year-old Chinese citizen was arrested for distributing 14,526 erotic videos, including 20 deepfakes involving celebrities and five videos depicting sexual exploitation of children. This individual operated an illegal pornographic website from June 2023 to the previous month.

“We will respond harshly not only to deepfakes but also to the editing, synthesis, and processing of images of human faces and bodies with the purpose of sexual humiliation in any form,” a police officer quoted by Yonhap said.