"Real Names and Ranks Exposed"... 7 Reports of Female Soldiers' 'Deepfake Sexual Crime' Victimization

Illegal Synthetic Substances Shared in 'Yeogunnungyokbang'

The Military Human Rights Center's Military Sexual Violence Counseling Office announced on the 7th that deepfake sexual crime damage targeting female soldiers has been found to be severe.

Upon discovering that illegal synthetic materials were being shared in the so-called 'Yeogunnungyokbang' (Female Soldiers Humiliation Room) opened on Telegram, the Counseling Office operated an intensive reporting period from the 3rd to the 30th of last month. As a result, there were 7 cases directly reported to the counseling office by victims, and the office explained that the damage to other female soldiers reported by the victims was also serious. The counseling office stated, "The illegal synthetic materials expose the real names and ranks of female soldiers as they are, to the extent that anyone around the victims can recognize them."

Among the 7 reported cases, none of the victims themselves discovered the illegal synthetic materials. Four cases were discovered and reported by fellow soldiers, two cases were informed to the victims by the Ministry of National Defense Investigation Headquarters, and one case was reported by an unknown person. The counseling office pointed out that this "shows the seriousness that illegal synthetic materials are not confined to a limited virtual space called 'Yeogunnungyokbang' but can actually be distributed and stored."

Additionally, "Most of the illegal synthetic materials related to victims who reported to the counseling office were photos taken while wearing military uniforms during daily life, but many other illegal synthetic materials of female soldiers provided by the victims included military ID photos that appear to be registered in the Ministry of National Defense personnel system," and demanded that the Ministry of National Defense inspect systems for personal information protection and take responsibility and roles such as identifying perpetrators.

The counseling office is supporting the deletion of illegal synthetic materials according to the wishes of the victims who reported, and plans to start legal support along with medical support once the perpetrators are identified.