[2023 National Audit] "Creating and Selling Sexual Videos with Deepfake... Over 9,000 Cases in 3 Years"

Number of KCSC Correction Requests Increasing Every Year
Kim Byung-wook "Need to Establish System and Take Strong Measures"

Crimes involving the creation and distribution of fake sexual videos using deepfake technology, which synthesizes faces and other features based on artificial intelligence (AI), are on the rise.

According to data submitted by the Korea Communications Standards Commission to Kim Byung-wook, a member of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee from the People Power Party, the commission reviewed and requested corrections for a total of 9,006 cases of fake sexual videos over the past three years.

Kim Byung-wook, Member of the People Power Party

By year, there were 473 cases from June 2020, 1,913 cases in 2021, 3,574 cases in 2022, and 3,046 cases as of August this year, showing a significant increase every year.

According to the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, anyone who edits, synthesizes, or processes videos targeting a person's face, body, or voice in a way that induces sexual desire or shame against the subject's will is subject to imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won.

At the Namyangju Northern Police Station of the Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency, a suspect was arrested for creating fake images by combining women’s profile photos publicly posted on SNS with naked photos of others and distributing them on overseas websites from August 5 to 16, 2021.

At the Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Jeju Police Agency, a suspect was arrested for producing over 3,000 fake videos of celebrities (including minors) on overseas subscription-based sites charging $30 per month from August 2020 to October last year and selling them via Telegram.

Assemblyman Kim said, "As technology advances, crimes are becoming more sophisticated, so authorities must quickly understand related technologies and establish systems to respond," adding, "Strong measures such as employment restrictions, disclosure of personal information, and mugshots for digital sex crimes are also necessary."

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