School-Dedicated Police Officer Prevention Education Concurrently Conducted
Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Task Force Formed
Preliminary Investigation Launched into Telegram Corporation Indictment
Amid a recent surge in deepfake sex crimes, it has been revealed that 7 out of 10 suspects are teenagers.
According to the National Police Agency on the 3rd, the number of deepfake crime cases reported from January to July this year totaled 297, with 147 arrests made. Among 178 suspects, 131 (73.6%) were teenagers, 36 (20.2%) were in their 20s, and 10 (5.6%) were in their 30s. During a special intensive crackdown from the 26th to the 30th of last month, a total of 118 victim reports were received. Authorities identified 33 suspects (31 teenagers) and arrested 7 (6 teenagers).
Cho Ji-ho, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, stated at the National Assembly’s Budget and Accounts Committee comprehensive policy inquiry the day before, "About 75% of those arrested are teenagers, and including those in their 20s, the figure expands to about 95%," adding, "Many tend to commit crimes without a sense of guilt or criminal awareness, so we will conduct preventive education through school police officers." The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has organized a task force (TF) to focus on responding to deepfake sex crimes and other false video materials. The TF is led by the head of the Cyber Investigation Division as the general team leader and consists of three dedicated investigation teams, a cyber profiling team, a digital forensic team, and a support department team, operating until March 31 of next year.
Currently, the police have initiated a pre-investigation (internal inquiry) applying charges of aiding and abetting deepfake sex crimes against the Telegram corporation. Woo Jong-su, head of the National Police Agency’s National Investigation Headquarters, emphasized at a regular press briefing the day before, "As was done in France, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has started a pre-investigation into the Telegram corporation," and added, "It is not that we have never made arrests related to crimes using Telegram. We have our own investigative techniques and are doing our best to investigate."
The police plan to cooperate with international organizations and French investigative authorities to explore methods for investigating Telegram. Earlier, the French government arrested Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram, in Paris on the 24th of last month and provisionally indicted him on charges of aiding and conspiring in various crimes, including online sex crimes and drug distribution. The French prosecution requested Telegram to disclose the identities of suspects related to child sexual exploitation materials, but Telegram did not respond.
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