Possession and Viewing of Deepfake Sexual Crime Material Punished as Passed by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee

A bill that punishes possession or viewing of deepfake-produced sexual crime materials with up to three years of imprisonment has passed the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

On the 25th, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a plenary session and approved an amendment to the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes, which imposes up to three years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 30 million won for possession, purchase, storage, or viewing of deepfake sexual crime materials and other false videos.

The amendment allows punishment for producing sexual crime materials using deepfakes even if the intent to distribute is not proven. In such cases, the penalty is up to seven years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 50 million won, equivalent to the level of illegal filming-related crimes.

After substitute debate among ruling and opposition lawmakers, the phrase "knowingly" was added to Article 14-2, Paragraph 4. This specification addresses concerns that individuals who store or view deepfake sexual exploitation materials without knowing their nature could be subject to investigation or punishment.

Additionally, a bill maintaining the minimum legal experience required for judicial appointments at five years also passed the committee. This modifies the unified legal profession policy, which had planned to sequentially expand the required legal experience to ten years. The current Court Organization Act stipulates that the minimum experience will be gradually increased to seven years in 2025 and ten years in 2029.

The bill, agreed upon by both ruling and opposition parties, is expected to pass smoothly at the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 26th.

Legislation and Judiciary Committee Plenary Meeting
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Shin Junhee = On the 25th, at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly, Chairman Jeong Cheong-rae is striking the gavel. 2024.9.25
hama@yna.co.kr
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