Jihyun Park: "Yoon Government Must Declare 'Deepfake Sexual Crime' a National Disaster"

Former Chairman Park: "Anyone Can Become a Victim"
"Telegram CEO Arrested... Yoon, Prepare Alternatives"
"Women, Don't Feel Anxious Alone"

Former Co-Chair of the Emergency Committee of the Democratic Party, Park Ji-hyun. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Former Co-Chair of the Democratic Party of Korea, Park Ji-hyun, has called for the declaration of a national disaster in response to the recently surfaced 'deepfake sexual crime' incidents.

On the 26th, Park posted on her social media (SNS), "As deepfake sexual crime cases at universities continue to emerge, many women are fearful that they might be victims themselves," adding, "Many people cannot sleep because acquaintances have synthesized their photos with nudity and are spreading personal information. Some even contact me in the early morning asking how to catch the perpetrators."

She stated, "The immediate online response is to take down all photos posted on SNS, but this is not a solution," and continued, "These are heinous criminals who commit all kinds of sexual crimes using illegally filmed content as well as photos from graduation albums that anyone has. We are all in a situation where anyone can become a victim of digital sexual crimes."

She further pointed out, "In particular, regarding the controversial deepfake sexual crimes, AI bots initially allow free synthesis, and afterward, they charge money or provide additional 'credits' if AI synthesis rooms are shared, effectively trading women's harm as a commodity," adding, "Deepfake sexual crime content can be created in one minute. Anyone can enter the rooms without any authentication process."

Referring to the recent arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France, Park recalled, "When the Nth Room case first became an issue in Korea in 2020, it did not end with 'Telegram cannot be caught'; the government had to make painstaking efforts." She also expressed her opinion, saying, "Now that Pavel Durov has been caught, what will the Yoon Seok-yeol administration do? They must declare this a national disaster and urgently prepare countermeasures."

In conclusion, she said, "I hope women do not feel anxious alone," and added, "I hope we do not lose the hope that our anxiety and anger will ultimately make this world a little better." Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that sexual crimes involving the synthesis of obscene images onto women's faces have occurred in some group chat rooms on Telegram. The victims are known to include not only university students but also middle and high school students and female soldiers.