South Korean police said Thursday they are investigating two YouTubers accused of producing and displaying a fake video of President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee using deepfake technology.
The two are suspected of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment Etc. of Sexual Crimes, specifically Article 14-2 on the distribution of fabricated video materials, according to the cybercrime investigation unit of the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency. The video in question purportedly contained sexually demeaning content concerning the country's first couple.
The video was shown at the May 18 Democracy Square in Dong-gu, Gwangju, on Feb. 15 near the spot where a protest was being held calling for Yoon's impeachment. The president is currently undergoing impeachment and criminal trials on charges of insurrection and abuse of power related to his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law.
Authorities determined that the showing of the problematic video was not connected to the organizers of the anti-Yoon protest.
The person who played the video is a resident of Gyeonggi Province while the person suspected of making the video lives overseas. Police plan to conduct a legal review of the case before requesting that the suspects appear before investigators for questioning.
The incident sparked outrage across the country, particularly among supporters of the conservative president. In a statement released on Feb. 16, the presidential office called it "a blatant insult and a severe infringement of human rights," and filed criminal charges against the suspects.
According to the law, a person who synthesizes or processes a photograph, video or audio recording of a person with the purpose of distributing such content in a form that "may cause sexual desire or shame against the will of the person" may be punished by a sentence of up to five years in prison or a fine of 50 million won ($34,800).
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
