AI Threat Watch

Case south-korea-telegram-school-deepfake-crisisDeepfake abuseSouth Korea

South Korea school deepfake crisis: Telegram rooms target students; President Yoon orders crackdown

In August 2024 Telegram chatrooms tied to schools and universities were found sharing AI sexual deepfakes of female students, including one with about 1,200 members targeting more than 30 Inha University students; police said 73.6% of suspects identified in early 2024 were minors. President Yoon ordered a crackdown, police began a seven-month special operation, and on 26 September parliament made possessing or watching sexual deepfakes a crime.

CriticalHarm caused by AIStatus: OngoingVerified case file

Open in the interactive mapCite this case

Reported
Aug 28, 2024
Location
South Korea
Target
Female middle school, high school and university students and teachers across South Korea
Severity
Critical
Verification
Confirmed by victim, vendor or authority
Triggered by
Mostly teenage boys and male students using Telegram chatrooms
Actor type
Criminal
Sector
Education & research
Reported loss
None reported
CVE
None

What happened

In August 2024 Telegram chatrooms tied to schools and universities were found sharing AI sexual deepfakes of female students, including one with about 1,200 members targeting more than 30 Inha University students; police said 73.6% of suspects identified in early 2024 were minors. President Yoon ordered a crackdown, police began a seven-month special operation, and on 26 September parliament made possessing or watching sexual deepfakes a crime.

Impact: 297 deepfake cases reported in January to July 2024; more than 800 deepfake sex crime cases by late September

Who triggered it

Actor: Mostly teenage boys and male students using Telegram chatrooms

Attribution: Korean National Police Agency

Motive: Humiliation of female classmates and teachers; group sharing

How it happened

Attack vector: AI deepfake tools used on selfies taken from Instagram; images shared in Telegram chatrooms organised by school or university

Root cause: Easy deepfake tools, Telegram's limited cooperation with police, and weak penalties

Timeline

  1. President Yoon orders authorities to investigate deepfake sex crimes
  2. KNPA announces seven-month special crackdown; data shows 131 of 178 suspects were minors
  3. AFP reports seven arrests in the crackdown, six of them teenagers
  4. National Assembly passes bill criminalising possession and viewing of sexual deepfakes

Response

Seven-month KNPA crackdown with detection software; National Assembly criminalised buying, saving or watching sexual deepfakes (up to 3 years) and raised the maximum for making them to 7 years

Current status: Ongoing

Sources (open in a new tab)

Cite this case

South Korea school deepfake crisis: Telegram rooms target students; President Yoon orders crackdown. AI Threat Watch, case south-korea-telegram-school-deepfake-crisis, Aug 28, 2024. https://aithreat.io/cases/south-korea-telegram-school-deepfake-crisis/

Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/south-korea-telegram-school-deepfake-crisis/

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