South Korean media regulator blocks deepfake videos of President and First Lady
Deepfake videos synthesizing the faces of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee were displayed at a political rally on February 15, 2025. The Broadcast and Communications Committee voted on February 18 to block access to two videos circulating on YouTube, while three others had already been removed by Google.
What happened
On February 15, 2025, deepfake videos featuring the faces of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee were displayed at a rally held at the Gwangju 5Β·18 Democratic Square.
The Presidential Office filed a complaint against the distributors of the deepfake videos under the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes.
On February 18, 2025, South Korea's Broadcast and Communications Committee held an emergency meeting and voted to block access to two deepfake videos still circulating on YouTube. The committee received five videos total for review, but three had already been blocked by Google and were dismissed. The remaining two were subject to access blocking based on provisions concerning social disorder.
Reported impact
The deepfake videos defamed the President and First Lady by synthesizing their faces into inappropriate content.
Index analysis
The Broadcast and Communications Committee chair noted that careful monitoring and early intervention of deepfake content is necessary, citing a 2020 precedent where the committee blocked content showing a manipulated photograph of a former president.
The union representing broadcast journalists criticized the regulatory action, arguing that content identified as fabricated should not constitute social disorder and questioned the committee's decision-making.
Governance controls
Google voluntarily blocked three of the five deepfake videos identified by the regulator.
The Broadcast and Communications Committee exercised its regulatory authority to block access to the remaining videos still in circulation on YouTube.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.