"Evidence of Crime Exists, Contact Immediately"... Daegu Basic Councilors Suffer Deepfake Threats

Deepfake threatening emails containing pornographic images synthesized onto the face photos of Daegu local council members have been widely sent, prompting the police to launch an investigation.

According to Yonhap News on the 13th, on the 7th, Councilor A of Dalseo District Council reported receiving a threatening email containing 'illegal deepfake synthesized material.' The email titled 'Important Document' included a message saying, "I currently have evidence of your crime and you must know what impact this will have. Read this message and contact me immediately," along with a synthesized photo of Councilor A embracing a woman he does not know.

Deepfake Illegal Composite Threat Email Sent to a Basic Councilor in Dong-gu, Daegu. Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 2nd, Councilor B of Dong District Council received an email with the same content. Councilor B told Yonhap News, "The damage was shared in the nationwide Youth Local Councilors Association group chat, so I checked my inbox and found the email. It seems that young local councilors across the country have been targeted," adding, "I will file a complaint." Both Councilors A and B are male.

So far, it is known that four local council members in the Daegu area have received such emails. Councilor C of Suseong District Council said, "I understand that the first case of damage was shared in Seoul."

The police are tracking the sender of the emails. A police official stated, "We are reviewing the content as we expect additional victims."

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