South Korean teens arrested over deepfake sexual images

SEOUL, South Korea: Authorities in South Korea are investigating a wave of sexually explicit images and video clips that have spread online and shocked the country, leading police to arrest seven male suspects, six of whom are teenagers, police said on September 3.

South Korean authorities began investigating the images and videos late last month after local media reported the spread of the content, which was created using deepfake apps. Young men are said to steal images from social media of female classmates, teachers and neighbors, then use them to create sexually explicit material before spreading it in chat rooms on the messaging app Telegram.

The crimes have caused panic among many women in South Korea, with President Yoon Suk Yeol calling on his government last week to stamp out digital sexual abuse.

“Many victims are minors and most perpetrators are teenagers,” Yoon said at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “They may say they came up with this as a ‘just a joke,’ but this is a clear criminal act that exploits technology behind the wall of anonymity.”

The South Korean investigation followed the arrest of Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder of Telegram, by French authorities last month. Authorities in France were investigating child abuse material, drug trafficking and fraud on the encrypted messaging app. Durov was later charged with a range of crimes, including complicity in crimes such as facilitating the distribution of child abuse material.

The sharp rise in deepfakes in South Korea made headlines in the country after reporters found Telegram channels targeting female university, high school and college students.

“Telegram has actively removed content reported from Korea that violates the Terms of Service and will continue to do so,” the company said in a statement.

Last week, 118 cases of suspected deepfake sex crimes were reported, resulting in the arrest of the seven male suspects, police said on September 3. Police have not yet charged any of the arrested individuals.

Under South Korean law, people convicted of creating sexually explicit deepfakes with the intent to distribute them could face sentences of up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won (RM161,304), or US$37,000. Women’s rights groups have called for new legislation to punish those who possess and view such material.

Most of the people involved in the production and distribution of the images — and many of the victims — are teenagers, according to data collected by the Korean National Police Agency. Of the 178 people identified by the agency as criminal suspects in the first seven months of the year, 131 were teenagers, police said.

The number of suspects was expected to increase as more people reported cases of sexual violence via deepfakes.

South Korea has struggled with digital sex crimes in recent years. In 2020, Cho Joo-bin, the mastermind behind a digital sex crime ring, was sentenced to 40 years in prison on charges of luring young women, including teenagers, to make videos that he sold online via encrypted Telegram chat rooms.

This year, South Korea has reported a surge in online deepfake sex crimes, with 297 cases reported between January and July, nearly three times the number reported during the same period last year, police said. – The New York Times