Student in South Korea sentenced to 18 months over more than 1,100 deepfakes
In Seoul, South Korea, a 30-year-old Chinese international student was sentenced to 18 months in prison for creating more than 1,100 sexualized deepfakes depicting seven people, including his colleagues at a university research laboratory. The Korea Herald reports.
Court ruling
The Seoul Northern District Court found the man guilty of charges including the systematic production of manipulated sexualized images and videos, in violation of the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence.
The court also ordered the convicted man to complete a 40-hour program for sex offenders. He was banned for five years from working at institutions providing services to children, adolescents, or people with disabilities.
Case details
According to the court, over six months starting in November, the student used artificial intelligence to place the victims' faces onto explicit images and videos. He created a total of 1,141 files. Investigators also established that he had searched for ways to bypass the safeguards of the generative chatbot Grok.
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Judge Kwon So-young stated that the defendant repeatedly edited, composited, and otherwise manipulated images of people who studied with him in the same university laboratory. The court found that the circumstances and nature of the offenses required severe punishment.
The man deposited 7 million won, or about $5,200, through the court for each victim as compensation, but the victims refused to accept the money. The court took into account that he admitted all charges, expressed remorse, and had no prior convictions. The court also found no evidence that the created content had been distributed.
Prosecutors requested a three-year prison sentence, the disclosure of the convicted man's personal information, and an order requiring him to complete an appropriate program. The court declined to disclose his information, stating that imprisonment, registration as a sex offender, employment restrictions, and the program were sufficient to reduce the risk of reoffending.
