A high school student in South Korea was arrested by the police for producing and selling ***ographic content

Recently, a high school student in South Korea was arrested by the police on suspicion of using deepfake technology to produce ***ographic content and making profits from selling it, which has aroused widespread concern in society.

According to a report by Yonhap News Agency on September 5, the suspect is a student at a high school in North Gyeongsang Province. On June 7, he posted a message on a social platform, claiming that he could produce ***ographic pictures made by deepfake face-swapping based on the buyer's family members, acquaintances or other celebrities, and sell them on the "Telegram" platform at a price of 1,000 to 2,000 won per piece. After investigation, he made about 10 transactions with buyers and made a profit of more than 300,000 won.

After the South Korean police found these messages, they pretended to be buyers to approach the suspect and arrested him in July. They also seized 317 pieces of relevant materials. The local police station said that this student is suspected of violating the "Juvenile Protection Act" and the "Sexual Crime Punishment Act" and has been placed under investigation. It is reported that most of the victims involved in ***ographic pictures are acquaintances of the suspect from his middle school days, including one teacher and ten students. And as the investigation deepens, the number of victims may increase. When interrogated by the police, the suspect admitted that he learned to make "deepfake" content on the Internet, and that he engaged in criminal activities to "make money easily."

The South Korean newspaper "Kyunghyang Shinmun" previously reported that deepfake crimes against women are becoming increasingly rampant in South Korea. Not only on university campuses, but also in places such as primary and secondary schools and the military have become high-incidence areas. Information about victimized schools and victims is constantly flowing out of "Telegram" groups on social media. The "Hankyoreh" newspaper said that Park Ji-hyun, the former co-chairperson of the emergency response committee of the Democratic Party who exposed the "Nth room" incident, said that the number of people involved in deepfake crimes across the country may reach 220,000 (including possible duplicates). Many women are therefore plunged into uneasiness and fear. This incident once again sounds an alarm for South Korean society and also makes people deeply reflect on the safety of the online environment and the education and supervision of teenagers.