Overseas-Made 'Deepfake' Spreading Online... More Sophisticated 'Ji-in Neungyok' Scams

Korean Idol Singer Face Synthesis
Spread Domestically via Foreign Chat Rooms
Chat Rooms by Female Singers Also Appear

Defamation of Acquaintances, 'Interview' Required to Join

Police to Intensify Crackdown Until Late October

Photo by Getty Images Bank

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] As Korean idol singers gain popularity overseas, foreigners producing and distributing deepfake pornographic content are rampant on messenger platforms. Deepfake refers to a technology that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to synthesize photos or videos, and videos combining the subject's face with pornographic material have become problematic.

On the 9th, a deepfake video of a famous Korean female idol singer was indiscriminately distributed in a group chat room on Telegram. In addition to deepfake videos, dozens of photos combining the female singer's face with pornographic content were also shared. Although the chat room was operated by foreigners, many Koreans participated as well. This was because the access link was distributed in chat rooms where Koreans are active. Furthermore, to gather various fandoms, separate deepfake chat rooms were created for each female singer, where videos and synthesized pornographic content were posted.

Foreigners also opened related chat rooms on Discord, a messenger for gaming, and the entry links were distributed in several Telegram chat rooms. As a result, many Koreans participated there as well. Korean-language accounts participating in these chat rooms wrote in foreign languages such as English, saying "Give us more deepfakes" or "Is there anything more stimulating?" and shared pornographic content with others.

Besides deepfakes, ‘Jiin-neungyok’ chat rooms, which had almost disappeared after the ‘Nth Room incident,’ are increasing again one by one. Jiin-neungyok refers to synthesizing and distributing pornographic photos using the face of an acquaintance, and unlike in the past, the methods have become more sophisticated. Instead of distributing synthesized photos to an unspecified large number of people, recently sharing has been done with settings that prevent capturing the chat room or sharing the synthesized content with others. Additionally, some Jiin-neungyok chat rooms operated by inviting only those who passed a kind of interview (?) via private messages.

As various cyber sexual violence crimes continue, the police launched a ‘Cyber Sexual Violence Illegal Distribution Network and Distributor Crackdown’ on the 2nd of this month. They plan to focus on cracking down on suppliers who produce and distribute sexual exploitation materials, illegal filming, and illegal synthesized content, as well as users who utilize them. They will investigate illegal distribution networks of sexual exploitation materials on platforms such as Telegram and the dark web, as well as Discord. This operation will continue until October 31.

A police official stated, "Even if those who produce or distribute deepfakes reside overseas, if the victims are our citizens, investigations can proceed," adding, "We will respond strictly to deepfake crimes as well as Jiin-neungyok."

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