‘According to a recent report on the status of deepfake productions in 2023 released by the U.S. cybersecurity company Security Hero, more than half of the individuals appearing in pornographic materials created using deepfake (AI-based image synthesis) are Koreans. Among the top 10 individuals most commonly used in creating deepfake pornographic materials, 8 are Korean singers.’
‘Based on the report by Security Hero, which conducted a survey of 85 channels on deepfake pornographic websites and YouTube from July to August last year, it was revealed that 53% of the individuals appearing in the materials are Koreans, making South Korea the most vulnerable country in the world to deepfake pornographic materials.’
‘The majority of the individuals appearing in global deepfake pornographic materials surveyed by Security Hero were Korean singers. Among the top 10 individuals, all were singers or actresses, with Korean singers ranking 1st to 7th and 9th. The report did not disclose the list, seemingly out of concern for potential secondary harm. The image of the singer who appeared most frequently in deepfake pornographic materials, singer A, was used in a total of 1595 contents and amassed a total of 5.61 million views. Singer B, who ranked 2nd, had 1238 materials and 3.86 million views.’
‘The number of deepfake pornographic materials is increasing annually. While it was limited to 3725 materials until 2022, it skyrocketed to 21,019 last year, an increase of nearly five times in just one year. Deepfake pornographic materials are published on 7 out of the top 10 websites providing adult content. 99% of the individuals depicted are women. Security Hero emphasized the need for legal protection of privacy and rights, detection technology, and public awareness campaigns to combat the threat of deepfake pornographic materials.’
‘In response to the growing issue of harms caused by deepfake pornographic materials, the government has decided to strengthen the punishment levels for related crimes. The government and the opposition party announced during a parliamentary session that they will push for measures to increase the maximum prison sentence for spreading fake videos from the current 5 years to 7 years, similar to that of illegal filming. Plans are also in place to crack down on the use of the Russian messenger Telegram and Hotline commonly used for distributing deepfake pornographic materials.’
‘Considering that numerous middle school students are involved in recent cases of deepfake pornographic material production and distribution, there are discussions about lowering the age of juvenile law, which exempts criminal punishment for those aged 10 to under 14 years old.’