The number of deepfake sexual crime materials reviewed by South Korea's broadcasting regulator topped 17,000 in just eight months this year, already exceeding the full-year total for last year. With reviews continuing to target overseas illegal and pornographic websites, critics say effective measures are needed to block distribution and prevent further harm.
According to data obtained by Rep. Lee Yeon-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, from the Korea Communications Standards Commission, a total of 17,378 deepfake sexual crime materials were reviewed from January through August this year. The figure released on the 17th represents an increase of about 9.9% from the 15,808 cases reviewed for all of last year.
By year, the number of reviews rose from 1,913 in 2021 to 3,574 in 2022 and 7,187 in 2023. It climbed to 23,109 in 2024 before falling to 15,808 last year, but this year's eight-month figure has already surpassed the previous year's annual total.
By platform, the "other" category — which includes overseas illegal and pornographic websites and peer-to-peer sites — accounted for 17,116 cases. X, formerly Twitter, and Telegram accounted for 138 and 124 cases, respectively.
Ko Kwang-heon, chairman of the commission, said at a parliamentary audit on the 12th that the agency would work to prevent the spread of harm from illegally filmed footage and deepfake sexual crime videos, and to strengthen the effectiveness of deleting and blocking illegal content distributed through overseas platforms.
"Given that the number of deepfake sexual crime reviews has exceeded last year's annual total, we need to closely examine the current situation and the response system," Lee said. "Effective measures are needed to prevent the spread of harm and to protect victims."