Weekly Report Status Monitoring... Victim Support Plan
Follow-up Measures to Be Announced After Discussions with Relevant Agencies
Approximately 200 reports of 'deepfake' damage involving students and teachers have been received by the education authorities. The Ministry of Education plans to form an emergency task force (TF) to respond and prepare follow-up measures through consultations with related organizations.
The Ministry of Education announced on the 28th that from January 1 to the 27th of this month, a total of 196 reports of deepfake damage involving students and teachers were received from 17 metropolitan and provincial offices of education. Among these, 179 cases have been referred to investigative authorities. Earlier, on the 26th, the Ministry sent official letters to each metropolitan and provincial office of education requesting them to identify the current status of deepfake damage.
Recently, on social media, it has been spreading that deepfake sexual composite images of students or teachers are being distributed via Telegram, mainly in local areas and schools. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, by the end of last month, 10 teenagers who produced and distributed deepfake pornography were booked on charges of violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Act.
Considering the seriousness of the issue, the Ministry of Education plans to form an emergency deepfake response TF led by the Vice Minister, operating a situation room composed of six teams by field. The TF will investigate and report on deepfake-related matters once a week and respond in various areas such as handling student and teacher damage cases, psychological support for students and teachers, school prevention education and awareness improvement, and strengthening digital ethics and responsibility. The 'Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Reporting Center in the Education Sector' operated by the Ministry will also be reorganized to actively respond to new types of school violence such as deepfake.
Going forward, the Ministry of Education plans to start with a meeting of vice superintendents of metropolitan and provincial offices of education on the 30th, followed by consultations with related ministries and operation of an expert advisory group in September to derive practical measures, and then establish and announce follow-up actions through the Social Relations Ministers' Meeting in October. The advisory group will be composed of university human rights center officials, experts in law, psychological counseling, prevention education, investigation, AI digital technology utilization, and field teachers.
Oh Seok-hwan, Vice Minister of Education, emphasized, "We will respond strictly and firmly to confirmed cases and help not only the direct victims but also the healing and recovery of indirect victims."
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