In 2020, the "Nth room" case, a significant criminal investigation in South Korea involving blackmail, cybersex trafficking, and the distribution of sexually exploitative videos via the Telegram app, caused considerable concern within the country. Currently, South Korea is facing a new challenge in the form of digital sex crime, which involves the creation and distribution of illegal pornographic videos using deepfake technology.

In August of this year, it was revealed that approximately 220,000 users of the instant messaging platform Telegram were engaged in the creation of illegal deepfake videos. The majority of these users were teenage boys, and they were participating in larger group chats on the platform with the specific intention of creating the aforementioned videos. The relatively new technology, known as "deepfake," enables the generation of realistic videos, photographs, and audio recordings through artificial intelligence. In this case, it has been employed by criminals to create illicit pornographic material featuring images of young girls and women in South Korea.

Park Go-Eun, a journalist who was involved in the investigation of the case, attributes the prevalence of adolescents among the perpetrators to the pervasiveness of a culture that sexualises and objectifies women among teenage males. This culture normalises the perpetrators' actions and minimises their criminality, as they perceive it as a game rather than a crime. Furthermore, the lack of barriers and ease of access to group chats on Telegram facilitate their use. 

Telegram chat groups can be classified into three principal categories. The initial category of groups is concerned with the creation of illicit content. There is no dialogue; instead, a chatbot instructs the user to post an image of a woman deemed to be the user's "favourite". The chatbot will then proceed to generate a video or photograph of a sexual nature within a few minutes, utilising the image of the individual that was provided to the chatbot. 

The second category comprises groups in which links are shared with other Telegram groups where the illicit content is disseminated. The links to the groups are typically categorised according to “specific topic” or geographic location. For instance, perpetrators inquire as to the existence of a group for “Seoul - XY district” or a group for “XY high school.” Further examples include links for groups that share photos of family members (referred to as “incest room”) or photos of women in the military (referred to as “yeo-gun room”). 

The final category comprises groups where the illegal content itself is shared. Members of these groups disseminate photos created in the first category of Telegram groups, and instances of victim humiliation also occur in this context.

As has been previously mentioned, this is not the first case of digital sex crime in South Korea. A persistent problem in South Korea is the use of hidden cameras, commonly referred to as “molka” in Korean, which targets women in restrooms, hotels, and locker rooms. The recorded footage is then disseminated on illicit online platforms or shared in Telegram group chats. The recorded images are subsequently disseminated on online platforms where male perpetrators can access them for a fee. The number of cases involving molka has been on the rise since 2013, becoming a pivotal issue in South Korea's #MeToo movement in 2018. Media reports confirm that more than 30,000 filming cases with hidden cameras were reported to the police in South Korea between 2013 and 2018. 

Despite efforts to eradicate these crimes, the number of digital sex crimes continues to rise. In 2018, tens of thousands of women gathered in Seoul to protest against the illegal filming of their intimate lives under the banner "My life is not your porn." However, in 2019, the Burning Sun case was brought to light, and a year later, the Nth Room case was revealed, and the number of digital sex crime cases has remained constant or higher to this date.

There has been a notable increase in the prevalence of digital sex crimes against women globally, and this is perhaps, particularly the case in South Korea, where such crimes appear to be more prevalent than in other countries. Heather Barr, an associate director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), identifies a key factor contributing to this problem: The majority of judges, prosecutors, police officers, and lawmakers in South Korea are male, which often leads to a lack of seriousness in addressing these crimes. To provide an example, the task force, which was established in 2020 to formulate recommendations and implement measures to defend against digital sex crimes, has now been dissolved by the Korean government, as it is believed that the task force has "already served its purpose."

It is currently challenging to impose consequences for the creation of pornographic material through deepfake technology. While Article 14(2) of the "Special Act on Punishment of Crimes of Sexual Violence" prohibits such activity, it must be proven that the perpetrator intended to distribute the content or had already made it available for distribution. While the phenomenon of deepfake pornography has grown significantly since 2020, when the law was enacted, it is worth noting that only 70 cases of deepfake pornography have actually been prosecuted to date. It would be beneficial to consider introducing new measures or legislation to more effectively address the issue of deepfake crimes.



 

Sources

Barr, H. (2024, 29. srpna). South Korea’s Digital Sex Crime Deepfake Crisis. Human Rights Watch. Získáno z https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/08/29/south-koreas-digital-sex-crime-deepfake-crisis

Choe, S. (2024, 12. září). In South Korea, Misogyny Has a New Weapon: Deepfake Sex Videos. The New York Times. Získáno z https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/12/world/asia/south-korea-deepfake-videos.html

Gunia, A. (2022, 7. března). ‘It Breaks My Heart.’ Confronting the Traumatic Impact of South Korea’s Spycam Problem on Women. TIME. Získáno z https://time.com/6154837/open-shutters-south-korea-spycam-molka/

Lee, Y. (이영광) (2024, 9. září). “10대 가해자들이 갑자기 딥페이크 괴물이 된 게 아닙니다” [이영광의 ‘언론을 묻는다’]. Mediaus (미디어스). Získáno z https://www.mediaus.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=309875

Rashid, R., & McCurry, J. (2024, 13. září). From spy cams to deepfake porn: fury in South Korea as women targeted again. The Guardian. Získáno z https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/13/from-spy-cams-to-deepfake-porn-fury-in-south-korea-as-women-targeted-again

Rosen, K. R. (2022, 20. prosince). In South Korea, women are fighting to end digital sex crimes. Coda Story. Získáno z https://www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/molka-digital-sex-crimes-south-korea/

Photograph

On 21 September at 3pm, a demonstration will be held in Seoul to demand a crackdown on deepfake sexual exploitation. Women's rights are human rights (32298468922), author: Amanda Hirsch, 21 January 2017, source: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 DEED.