Over 100 Men Arrested for Producing and Distributing Celebrity 'Deepfake Videos'

Over 100 Victims Including Female Idol Group Members, Actresses, and BJs
Private Chat Rooms Mainly Operated for Enthusiastic Fans

More than 100 men in their teens to thirties were arrested en masse by the police for producing and distributing sexually explicit fake videos (deepfakes) of famous female idol group members and enjoying these videos in chat rooms. The number of victims reached over 100, including female idol group members, actresses, and BJs.

On the 11th, the Cyber Crime Investigation Unit 2 of the Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency announced that they had arrested 23 Telegram chat room operators on charges of violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse and the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, among others, and sent 13 of them to prosecution in custody.

The police also arrested about 60 additional participants in the chat rooms. A man in his 30s, identified as Mr. A, a major chat room operator, is suspected of producing over 1,100 sexually explicit fake videos targeting about 30 celebrities, including female idol group members he liked, and distributing them in Telegram chat rooms from August last year to March this year.

Mr. A mainly operated private chat rooms for enthusiastic fans. Some members were confirmed to have used the produced videos to sexually mock celebrities or took obscene photos using life-sized standees (photos of the same size as a person) of celebrities at fan signing events.

Another chat room operator, Mr. B, also in his 30s, produced and shared 150 sexually explicit fake videos targeting about 70 people, including idols, actresses, and internet personal broadcasters (BJs). Mr. B manipulated videos not only using deepfake technology but also 'deepvoice' technology to make it appear as if celebrities were actually speaking vulgar words.

The number of members in the chat room he operated was estimated to be around 360. Additionally, a man in his 20s, Mr. C, was found to have produced and shared about 300 sexually explicit fake videos targeting ordinary people, including middle school classmates he knew, in Mr. B’s chat room.

According to the police investigation, most of those arrested were unemployed individuals in their teens and twenties, including recipients of basic livelihood security. They operated chat rooms without profit motives, were called "writers" by members, and committed crimes to satisfy their sexual fantasies and desire for recognition.

The police arrested them using various digital sex crime investigation techniques, including undercover operations and international cooperation during the deepfake sex crime crackdown period conducted by the National Police Agency.

The police are continuously monitoring various platforms, including Telegram, and plan to track down and arrest all participants in the chat rooms to the end.

Kim Jeong-hyun, head of the Cyber Investigation Unit 2 at the Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency, said, "Participants in the chat rooms perceived that celebrity deepfakes were not investigated by law enforcement agencies or that even if punished, the penalties were weak," adding, "Digital sex crimes are serious offenses that severely destroy the daily lives of victims, and we will do our best to eradicate them."