94 Arrested for Illegal Production and Distribution of 'Deepfake' Synthetic Content... 7 out of 10 Are Minors

Most Victims Are Teenagers
Illegal Sites Earning Over 100 Million Won Also Exposed

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Suspects who exploited so-called 'deepfake' technology using artificial intelligence to produce sexually exploitative materials have been arrested en masse by the police. In particular, it is shocking that a significant number of deepfake creators and distributors were confirmed to be minors.

The National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency announced on the 2nd that they conducted an intensive investigation over five months into the illegal production and distribution of deepfake synthetic materials, arresting 94 people, of whom 10 were detained. Additionally, investigations are ongoing for 103 cases.

The age group of the arrested suspects was predominantly teenagers, with 65 individuals (69.1%). This was followed by people in their 20s with 17 (18.1%), those aged 50 and above with 8 (8.5%), and those in their 30s with 3 (3.2%). A police official analyzed, "It appears that youths regarded illegal synthetic material crimes as a joke or mistakenly believed they would not be punished, leading to these offenses."

A total of 114 deepfake victims whose personal information was confirmed were identified. Among them, 109 (95.6%) were female. The victims' age distribution was 66 teenagers (57.9%), 46 in their 20s (40.3%), and 2 aged 30 or older (1.8%).

There were cases where perpetrators earned illicit profits amounting to hundreds of millions of won beyond simple synthesis and distribution. The Gyeongnam Police Agency arrested Mr. A, who operated an illegal website from July last year to March this year, posting over 120,000 illegal synthetic materials and earning 150 million won in criminal proceeds through gambling banner advertisements. The police confiscated 33.01 million won as a pre-indictment seizure.

The secure messenger Telegram was also exploited as a distribution channel for illegal synthetic materials. The Jeju Police Agency arrested Mr. B, who from December last year to March this year created and operated eight Telegram channels, producing and distributing 727 illegal synthetic materials edited with faces of acquaintances, celebrities, and others' body photos.

The police are promoting a "Focused Crackdown on Illegal Distribution Networks and Acts of Cyber Sexual Violence" until October this year to eradicate cyber sexual violence. A police official stated, "Crimes such as the production and distribution of illegal synthetic materials cause serious harm to others," and urged, "If you suffer damage from illegal synthetic material crimes or discover such cases, please actively report them through the Cyber Crime Reporting System (ECRM) and other channels."

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