Production of Sexual Exploitation Material Targeting Middle School Alumni
Perpetrator Claims Innocence, Parents Respond with 'Ignorance'
A high school student accused of producing deepfake sexual exploitation material targeting middle school classmates has expressed feelings of injustice, while the perpetrator's parents have shown a shameless attitude by consistently denying involvement, sparking public outrage.
On the 6th, SBS's 'Curious Story Y' released an interview with high school student A, who was booked on charges of producing and distributing deepfake sexual exploitation material targeting elementary and middle school classmates, as well as with his father.
While the production team was searching for A's whereabouts, A himself contacted them saying, "I want to clear up misunderstandings." When the team suggested, "Let's meet and talk," A declined, saying, "I have a writing exam in October. I attend a study room and a managed academy." When asked, "Have you ever made deepfake sexual exploitation material?" A replied, "I don't think I can say. This case is not over yet."
Later, A sent a message to the production team saying, "I have thought a lot about the coverage. But I am too busy studying and don't have enough time, so I don't think I can participate in the interview."
The production team met with A's father on behalf of the busy A. When asked, "Do you know that what your son made is illegal?" A's father said, "I don't care. My child is taking exams now. There is a writing exam in October and the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) in November." When the team pointed out, "The victims are also taking exams," A's father responded, "That person is studying for exams too, and my child has only one month left. Because of that, he was under a lot of stress. The police are investigating now." When the team tried to continue the conversation, A's father cut it off saying, "I really don't care," and went back inside the house.
B, a victim of deepfake sexual exploitation, said, "I can't sleep well and have started going to the hospital," adding, "I take sleeping pills before going to bed." Another victim, C, said, "I never held a grudge, so I don't really understand why this happened."
Netizens who saw this expressed anger with comments such as, "How long will the sentences for sex crimes remain this light? They need to be definitely increased," "All student perpetrators involved in deepfake crimes should be disqualified from taking the CSAT," "It's shocking that they go to university after studying like that. They need to relearn basic character," "As expected, children are mirrors of their parents," and "They shamelessly ruin other people's lives."
Meanwhile, according to the 'False Video (Illegal composites edited through deepfake crimes) Crime Statistics' released by the National Police Agency on the 3rd, among 178 suspects arrested for deepfake crimes up to July this year, 131 were teenagers, accounting for 73.6%.
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