"○○ High School XXX, Perpetrator's Personal Information" ... 'Deepfake Revenge Room' Emerges

Sharing Personal Information of Accused Individuals
Possible Punishment for Violating Personal Information Protection Act
"Result of Distrust in Public Authority"

As the controversy over 'deepfake sex crimes' escalates, personal information of those accused as perpetrators is being circulated.

Currently, a chat room called 'Deepfake Perpetrator Information Room' has been created on Telegram. As of 11 a.m. on the 29th, there are 419 participants, and personal information such as names, residences, schools, and contact details of those accused of deepfake sex crimes is being indiscriminately posted. However, concerns are rising that individuals unrelated to the case may also become victims of 'doxxing (personal information leakage),' sparking controversy.

In fact, in the chat room, conversations such as "Is there personal information on perpetrator XX?" and "I heard there is a perpetrator at XX ○○ High School, please share their information" are exchanged without hesitation. One user even posted someone's name, date of birth, school, residence, and social media (SNS) ID, claiming "I brought perpetrator information."

Such private retaliation is clearly illegal. If someone recklessly distributes another person's personal information online, they can be punished under the Personal Information Protection Act. Earlier in June, a YouTuber also faced public backlash for posting personal information of perpetrators involved in the Miryang group sexual assault case, including information of individuals unrelated to the incident.

Heo Min-sook, a researcher at the National Assembly Legislative Research Office, expressed her opinion on the situation in an interview with a media outlet. She said, "It is a tragic situation where citizens who do not trust public authority resort to so-called 'private sanctions.'" She added, "If investigative agencies had conducted accurate investigations and appropriately punished the perpetrators, this would not have happened. It is concerning that innocent people may suffer due to private sanctions." She further analyzed, "There has been a proliferation of digital sex crime perpetrators because punishments have been weak or inadequately enforced. It seems that private sanctions have occurred because the common-sense norm that perpetrators are caught and punished has not functioned properly."

Netizens responded to the trend of private sanctions with comments such as "Perpetrators receive light punishments, and ultimately only victims have to live in hell," "Public trust in judicial institutions has declined," and "If punishments for crimes were harsher, private sanctions would not happen."