AI-Generated Deepfake Nude Figurines Exploit South Korea Legal Loophole
A South Korean website called 玩X uses AI image generation tools to create non-consensual nude figurines and sexual imagery from photographs of women without their consent, reportedly attracting over 100,000 daily visitors. The platform's rapid growth after South Korea's 2024 deepfake law suggests the legislation does not effectively address AI-generated static images, leaving a legal loophole that enables the large-scale sexual exploitation.
What happened
A South Korean website called 玩X (Play X) enables users to upload photographs of female acquaintances—former girlfriends, spouses, and friends—and uses AI technology to generate realistic nude 3D figurines of those women.
The website combines tools like Google's Nano Banana with conversational AI to create simulated sexual content and videos from the generated images. Users publicly share their 'creations,' disclose victims' personal information for others to comment on, and exchange techniques for evading AI safety restrictions.
Daily visits to the website surpassed 100,000 by October 2025, up 60% since South Korea's Deepfake Punishment Act took effect in October 2024. The website had approximately 520,000 monthly active users and peak concurrent users of 4,400, with dozens of sexual abuse videos uploaded daily.
Reported impact
Women whose photographs are used without consent experience non-consensual sexual imagery of their faces and bodies disseminated on the platform, causing psychological harm.
The scale of the website reportedly equals that of Soranet, which was South Korea's largest illegal pornography site with over one million users before its closure in 2016.
Index analysis
The website exploits a gap in South Korea's Deepfake Punishment Act, which targets video content but may not clearly cover static images, creating legal ambiguity about whether AI-generated nude figurines constitute enforceable violations.
The platform operates with minimal access restrictions, requires only proof of age 18 or older, uses encrypted cryptocurrency for transactions to avoid financial tracking, and promises automatic deletion of IP addresses to shield members from identification.
Governance controls
South Korea enacted the Deepfake Punishment Act in October 2024 to criminalize synthetic sexual content, but user traffic to the website increased rather than decreased after the law took effect.
The Korea Communications Commission and investigative agencies reportedly remained silent despite 72 civil society organizations condemning the website's sexual exploitation in the prior year.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.