College student who created 700 deepfake porn files and blackmailed victims arrested

A college student who allegedly created and distributed over 700 files of deepfake porn of high school and college classmates through Telegram has been arrested and handed over to the prosecution.

A file photo shows members of a chat room discussing deepfake sex videos. The photo is unrelated to the article. [YONHAP]

A college student who allegedly created and distributed over 700 files of deepfake porn of high school and college classmates through Telegram has been arrested and handed over to the prosecution.

The Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency’s Cyber Investigation Division announced on Monday that the student, in his 20s, had been arrested and handed over to the prosecution on charges of violating the Act On Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes.

The student allegedly used social media photos of classmates and acquaintances from his high school and college to create deepfake porn content, which he then distributed through a Telegram channel. The student is also accused of sending the manufactured porn to victims, threatening to distribute the content if the victims did not comply with his demands.

According to the police, the student had been a member of a Telegram "humiliation” channel, where he made and distributed fake porn using photos of acquaintances or celebrities since March 2020. Starting last year, he created and ran his own Telegram channel, named after the region where he lives.

To participate in this channel, users were required to upload photos, personal information, or completed deepfake videos of acquaintances. The channel is estimated to have had over 100 active participants.

Citizens chant slogans against deepfake sex crimes during a rally in central Seoul on Sept. 6, 2024. [YONHAP]

These individuals sent the videos to the victims' phone numbers or email addresses, threatening them to “do as [we] say if you don’t want this spread to others" while also demanding more personal photos from the victims.

During a raid of the student's residence, police secured conversations from the Telegram humiliation chat room and confirmed that he had produced over 700 deepfake videos of high school and college classmates.

The student is also reported to have been in possession of around 15,000 illegal videos, including deepfake videos of female K-pop idols and well-known internet personalities and child sexual exploitation material. The ongoing police investigation revealed he is a college student living in northern Gyeonggi and attending a university in Seoul.

The police have requested the urgent deletion of the related videos through official cooperation with relevant agencies. Other participants in the Telegram humiliation channel created by the student will also be investigated.

“To alleviate public concern, we are conducting a special crackdown on deepfake sex crimes through March next year," said the Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency.

"We will take strict action not only against those who produce and distribute fake deepfake videos but also against those who possess, purchase, store or view such content, in accordance with the recent legal amendments."

BY JEON IK-JIN [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]