Police officer arrested over AI-generated sexual deepfakes
Summary
A police officer at Dongdaemun Police Station in Seoul was arrested Sept. 16 for allegedly generating and distributing sexually exploitative deepfakes through Telegram. Police said he used AI to create more than 400 explicit deepfakes of people he knew and continued the activity for more than two years while serving on the force. Investigators also found thousands of illicit images and videos in his possession.
Key Facts
- Police said investigators found about 5,600 images and videos in his possession, including roughly 2,600 deepfakes, 1,600 child and adolescent sexual abuse materials and 1,300 illegally filmed videos.
- The case began in a Busan Metropolitan Police Agency investigation into a Telegram chat room where sexually explicit deepfakes were allegedly being shared.
- Police obtained court approval in December last year to run an undercover investigation of the chat room, and a concealed officer tracked its activity for several months before identifying the suspect.
- The officer joined the police force in April 2024, after the alleged offenses had already begun, and police said he had previously been investigated for a similar offense before joining the force.
Alleged offenses began 2 years before joining police, continued while on duty
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A police officer has been arrested last month for allegedly generating sexually exploitative deepfakes of people he knew with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and sharing them on Telegram, police said Sunday.
According to police, the officer, assigned to Dongdaemun Police Station in Seoul, was arrested Sept. 16 on charges including possessing sexual abuse material and sexually explicit deepfakes, as well as creating and distributing such content.
Investigators found some 5,600 images and videos in his possession, including about 2,600 deepfakes, 1,600 pieces of child and adolescent sexual abuse material and 1,300 illegally filmed videos. Police also suspect that he personally created and distributed some of the illicit content.
The case came to light during an investigation by the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency into a Telegram chat room where sexually explicit deepfakes were allegedly being shared.
Police obtained court approval in December last year to conduct an undercover investigation of the chat room. An investigator entered the group under a concealed identity and tracked its activity for several months before identifying the officer as a suspected distributor.
Authorities later confirmed that the suspect was an active police officer assigned to the traffic division of the Dongdaemun Police Station in Seoul.
Undercover investigations of this kind were introduced in September 2021 through revisions to the law on the protection of children and juveniles against sexual abuse, following a series of major digital sex crime cases that drew nationwide outrage.
Police searched and seized the officer’s phone and other belongings in August. While the warrant initially cited the alleged distribution of just three deepfake images, a forensic analysis uncovered a far larger volume of illicit material.
Police allege that between March 2022 and July this year, the officer used AI applications to create more than 400 sexually explicit deepfakes depicting people he knew. He is also accused of secretly filming women and distributing dozens of deepfake images through Telegram chat rooms between August last year and April.
The officer joined the police force in April 2024, about two years after his alleged offenses began, and is accused of continuing them for more than two years while serving as a police officer.
He had also previously been investigated for a similar offense before joining the police and received a suspended indictment, according to reports.
The officer reportedly confessed to the allegations after the police investigation intensified.
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