[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho]
From now on, creating and distributing obscene synthetic materials for profit will be punishable by up to 7 years in prison.
The Ministry of Justice announced on the 17th that the amendment to the Sexual Violence Punishment Act containing this provision was approved at the Cabinet meeting.
According to the amendment, producing and distributing so-called "deepfake" videos that edit or synthesize a specific person's face and body will be punishable by up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won. In particular, if it is recognized as being for profit, the punishment will be increased to up to 7 years in prison.
Until now, crimes related to deepfake videos under current law were only punishable under defamation or distribution of obscene materials. Among these, the strongest punishment was for defamation by stating false facts, which carried a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison.
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