"Even Nth Room Ultimately Not Punished"... Deepfake Perpetrators Mocking Government

Deepfake Perpetrator Response Sharing Community Emerges
Some Perpetrators Still Continue Abusive Acts on Telegram

As the government has announced a strong response to Telegram deepfake sex crimes, an online community where perpetrators discuss and share ways to deal with investigations has emerged. Some perpetrators who joined the community even mocked law enforcement agencies, saying "there's no way we'll get caught." Recently, an online cafe named "School Violence Deepfake Countermeasures Headquarters" appeared. Cafe users shared their experiences as Telegram deepfake perpetrators and exchanged information on how to prepare for police investigations and the likelihood of punishment.

As the government has announced a strong response to deepfake sex crimes on Telegram, an online community has emerged where perpetrators discuss and share ways to deal with investigations.
[Photo by Asia Economy]

On the cafe's bulletin board, posts such as "In addition to the deepfake regional chatroom, I operated an overlapping regional chatroom. I'm still a high school student; is this a problem?" and "I only watched, but now that it's a big deal, I'm scared" were posted. Some parents also posted asking for ways to respond, saying their children used deepfake chatrooms. Some deepfake perpetrators expressed confidence that they would not face actual punishment.

One user, in a post titled "Honestly, why freaking out over this is over the top," argued, "It's not easy to identify the people who entered the chatroom, and even if they do, they can't organize everything about what each person did, so the investigation can't proceed." A user who is also an administrator of the cafe advised, "A similar incident happened four years ago. Except for the main culprit Jo Joo-bin in the 'Doctor's Room' case, most chatroom participants were not punished. Those who were just in the room can rest assured."

One user claimed in a post titled "Honestly, why it's over the top to be trembling over this" that "It's not easy to identify the people who entered the room, so they can't investigate everything about what this person did after entering." Another user, who is also an administrator of the cafe, said, "A similar incident happened four years ago," and advised, "Except for the main culprit Jo Joo-bin in the 'Doctor's Room' case, most participants in the chatroom were not punished. Those who were just in the room can rest assured."
[Photo by Naver Cafe]

When a user who appeared to be a parent commented, "My son is in a deepfake chatroom; is that okay?" the post author advised, "Since he is a minor, he is unlikely to face severe punishment. If he made a deepfake of a fellow student, it will be handled as school violence and will not be recorded in the school life record, so be careful. First, confiscate his phone and make him leave (Telegram)." The cafe was originally established in 2011 under a different name but was renamed to its current name on the 28th of last month after the deepfake sex crime issue became public. Experts pointed out that despite several amendments to digital sex crime laws, these behaviors continue due to still low levels of punishment.

Some perpetrators openly participate in Telegram chatrooms and continue their offenses. Although many chatrooms were deleted due to police crackdowns, chatrooms like "University-specific overlapping acquaintances" still exist, where they inquire about acquaintances to target. In particular, chatrooms requiring strict verification with acquaintances' photos and account information appeared, claiming to be "safe rooms where journalists or police cannot enter." On the 28th of last month, a chatroom targeting journalists reporting on deepfake sex crimes was also created. They shared the journalist's profile photo and mocked them with comments like "Journalists need to experience this to stop talking nonsense," and "Just try publishing an article."

Professor Lee Soo-jung of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University told Yonhap News, "Although related laws were amended after the Nth Room and Doctor's Room incidents, possession or viewing of (fake videos) without proof of distribution intent is still not punishable," adding, "Even when punished, many offenders are released on probation, and these perpetrators think probation is not a punishment." Furthermore, Professor Lee emphasized that in addition to strengthening punishment for producers and distributors of sexual exploitation materials, regulation of platforms used as crime channels is necessary for a more fundamental solution. She pointed out, "Since 2022, laws holding platforms responsible for (distribution of sexual exploitation materials) have begun to be legislated overseas, mainly in Europe, but in Korea, only monitoring is conducted, and there are no punishment regulations."