Incheon deepfake porn scandal involving university alumni
South Korean police arrested 15 people, including a graduate student, for creating and distributing deepfake nude images of university women on Telegram from late 2022 to mid-2024. The perpetrators synthesized victims' faces onto nude photos using AI technology and distributed the material approximately 270 times through channels named after the victims.
What happened
From November 2022 to August 2024, graduate student A (24) and 14 others used AI deepfake technology and photo editing software to synthesize the faces of 17 female university alumni onto nude photographs, creating 90 instances of sexual abuse material.
The group opened Telegram channels named after victims, including their university names and identifying information, and distributed the synthetic images approximately 270 times to unspecified users. They obtained victim photos and personal information from Instagram and Naver Blog.
Participants in the Telegram channels were given administrator privileges to further distribute the material to other channels. The primary chat room reached approximately 1,200 participants at its peak.
Reported impact
The victims included not only university alumni but also people unknown to the perpetrators. At least some victims were unaware of the material's existence.
Police received initial reports starting April 2023, prompting a dedicated investigation team of 26 officers to conduct a multi-year investigation.
Index analysis
The perpetrators repeatedly closed and reopened the Telegram channels to evade law enforcement and operated separate 'refuge' channels to increase participation.
Governance controls
Incheon Metropolitan Police arrested 8 individuals and detained 7 others without arrest warrants. A 30-year-old man arrested in March 2023 for redistributing the material received a one-year prison sentence in June 2023.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.