"In Just One Year, 400 Million Won: High Schooler Who Made Big Money Later Wore Handcuffs... Why?"

Made 400 Million KRW in Criminal Proceeds Over 1 Year Using Deepfake
54 Confirmed Victims of Illegal Filming

A man in his 20s who earned more than 400 million KRW in criminal proceeds by illegally synthesizing and selling deepfake materials of famous celebrities and child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials for one year during his minor years was sentenced to prison.

According to Yonhap News on the 12th, the Criminal Division 11 of Uijeongbu District Court (Chief Judge Oh Chang-seop) sentenced a man in his 20s, identified as A, to seven years in prison on charges including violation of the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse (production and distribution of sexual exploitation materials, etc.). The court also ordered the confiscation of about 100 million KRW in cryptocurrency from A and imposed a fine of 320 million KRW in cash. However, the court did not detain A in custody to allow him an opportunity to reach settlements with the victims.

On August 30, members of the National Women's Solidarity and the Seoul Women's Solidarity (Preparatory Committee) held a press conference in front of the Seoul Government Complex, where women and mothers condemned the recent deepfake sexual crimes and called for strong punishment and the establishment of comprehensive measures. Photo by Huh Younghan younghan@

A was prosecuted on charges of advertising child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials and deepfake videos more than 1,700 times on pornographic websites from July 2022 for one year while he was a minor, enabling viewers to download the videos. At that time, he posted captured illegal videos on pornographic sites, and visitors could download videos from overseas webhard companies through links in his posts.

The number of posts A created to sell child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials exceeded 400, and it is known that there were 54 confirmed victims of illegal filming. Some posts also included fake video captures edited and synthesized with the faces of famous celebrities. A took 50% of the revenue when viewers who saw his posts purchased access rights to overseas webhard services. Using this method, A, who was a teenager at the time, earned more than 400 million KRW in criminal proceeds over one year.

The court stated, "The victims suffered extreme fear and unnecessary pain and damage, as their illegal videos could be continuously distributed due to the defendant’s widespread dissemination of the videos," and added, "Some victims appeared in court to plead for severe punishment of the defendant."

Regarding the sentencing reasons, the court explained, "However, the defendant reached settlements with 12 victims and began the crimes while still a minor with somewhat immature judgment," and "considering that he has no prior criminal record and that his parents pledged to rehabilitate him."

Meanwhile, on the 10th, the government approved the partial amendment and promulgation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes at the Cabinet meeting. The amendment establishes punishment provisions for possession, purchase, storage, or viewing of fake sexual videos. In such cases, offenders face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million KRW. Furthermore, the statutory penalties for editing and distributing deepfake sexual exploitation materials were increased from up to five years to up to seven years, and for commercial purposes, the penalty was strengthened from imprisonment of up to seven years to imprisonment with a minimum of three years. Additionally, new punishment provisions were created for threats using deepfake sexual exploitation materials, imposing imprisonment of at least one year.