[Report] "No More Worries About Deepfake and Digital Sex Crimes" Police Academy Wide Open to Youth

The Best Way to Prevent Deepfake Crimes Is 'Education'
Lowering Police Station Barriers for Affected Youth
Experience and Education Tailored to Teen Perspectives

"The police station that once felt so unfamiliar is no longer scary!"

At Dongjak Youth Police School near Jangseungbaegi Station in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, eight second-year students from Hanul Middle School visited on the 25th, looking around with expressions full of curiosity. The students tried on police uniforms themselves, entered the detention center, and experienced being a 'one-day police officer.' They also handled various equipment such as handcuffs and batons. Beomsu Kim said, "When I thought of the police, it felt scary and unfamiliar, but after meeting them today, it’s no longer frightening," adding, "If I have any difficulties, I want to come to the police school and share my concerns."

On the 25th, Principal Lee Baek-hyung is giving a lecture on preventing deepfake crimes to middle school students at the Dongjak Youth Police School in Seoul.
[Photo by Shim Seong-ah]

The lively atmosphere changed as the lecture began. Throughout the serious and solemn 'Deepfake Crime Prevention' lecture, the students focused intently on the police officer’s explanations with bright, attentive eyes. On every screen showing materials about deepfake sexual crime, the word 'serious crime' was highlighted in bright red. Baekhyung Lee, principal of Dongjak Youth Police School who conducted the lecture, introduced real cases of youth deepfake offenders and victims, repeatedly emphasizing that committing deepfake crimes out of mere mischief or curiosity is absolutely unforgivable.

After the lecture, Jiwon Park said, "I had a rough idea of what deepfake was, but I didn’t know the exact punishments or how long one might have to stay in prison," adding, "I learned a lot today, and if deepfake victimization happens around me, I think I can report it to the police and respond properly based on what I learned."

Jihu Lee, who dreams of becoming a future detective, also said, "After listening to today’s lecture, I realized that deepfake is a truly frightening crime," adding, "I won’t forget that my friends or family could become victims or even perpetrators. I hope more students receive this education and feel comfortable coming here for counseling."

Seoul Dongjak Police Station opened the 'Youth Police School' last October with the purpose of preventing school violence through police experience. Since 2014, the Youth Police School has been conducted as a collaborative project between the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Education, providing experiential prevention education such as school violence prevention and forensic science for elementary, middle, and high school students to eradicate school violence. Dongjak Youth Police School was remodeled from the idle Dongjak Police Station’s security center site (Sangdo 2 Security Center).

According to the National Police Agency, the majority of both victims and perpetrators of deepfake and digital sexual crimes are teenagers. From January to the 14th of this year, among 474 people arrested for illegal synthetic sexual crimes, 381 (80.3%) were teenage youths. According to last year’s cyber sexual violence crackdown statistics, 295 out of 686 victims (43%) were teenagers.

As digital sexual crimes have become more serious recently, Dongjak Youth Police School operates a one-stop integrated window from counseling for deepfake and digital sexual crime victims to victim support. Last month, they established the 'We Pol' deepfake and school violence victim youth counseling center, providing legal counseling support and connecting victims to specialized institutions for protection support.

Principal Lee said, "We are focusing on crime prevention education by inviting expert instructors through collaboration with related organizations to prevent school violence and crimes among youth," adding, "In particular, we are deeply involved in youth deepfake crimes, which have emerged as a serious social issue, and plan to actively operate a specialized youth counseling center."