Belated Deepfake Undercover Investigation Bill... 'Too Late' as Damage Grows

Undercover Investigations Limited to Child and Adolescent Crimes
Evidence Collection Difficult for Adult-Targeted Crimes

As deepfake sex crime victims have increased recently, a bill has been introduced belatedly to allow undercover investigations for digital sex crimes targeting adults. Until now, undercover investigations were only permitted for crimes involving children and adolescents, causing difficulties for the police in collecting evidence.

On the 6th, a Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official said, “When monitoring Telegram chat rooms and discovering deepfake victim cases, it is difficult to distinguish whether the victim is an adult or a child/adolescent,” adding, “Because victims of deepfake crimes often have difficulty recognizing the harm they are experiencing, the scope of undercover investigations needs to be expanded for smooth investigations.”

According to the Korea Women's Human Rights Institute, among 874 requests for support related to deepfake victimization at the Digital Sex Crime Victim Support Center from January to August this year, 522 (59.7%) were adults. In fact, digital sex crimes targeting adults have continued unabated, including the so-called ‘Seoul National University Room N’ case from 2020 to April this year.

On the 3rd, Rep. Jo Eun-hee of the People Power Party introduced a bill to amend the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and the Act on the Protection of Children and Adolescents. The bill allows undercover investigations for digital sex crimes targeting adults and establishes a post-approval system enabling proactive identity-non-disclosure investigations in urgent cases such as nighttime or holidays.

Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of Konkuk University’s Department of Police Science stated, “Investigators need to conceal their identities and enter chat rooms to effectively identify and arrest those leading the production and distribution routes of deepfake sexual exploitation materials,” emphasizing, “With the current investigative methods and legal support, it is impossible to know who the suspects are. Since cooperation from overseas headquarters like Telegram is not forthcoming, alternatives must be found quickly.”