South Korea Sees Surge in Teen Deepfake Crimes

2025-09-16 03:28:16

(MENAFN) Crimes involving deepfake technology among South Korean teenagers have almost doubled between 2020 and 2024, according to media, citing statistics from the National Police Agency (NPA).

In 2023, authorities charged 1,372 teenagers with offenses including unauthorized recording of individuals’ bodies and producing or distributing exploitative images and videos manipulated by deepfake technology.

This figure has steadily climbed each year, starting at 710 in 2020, rising to 941 in 2021, then 1,040 in 2022, and reaching 1,224 in 2023, based on a report compiled by Rep. Kang Kyung Sook of the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party using official police data.

The prevalence of deepfake-related offenses has surged sharply, jumping from just 52 cases in 2022 to 548 in 2024. Notably, in September alone, teenagers accounted for 251 of 318 individuals charged with deepfake sex crimes—making up 78.9% of the total accused.

Within the first eight months of this year, 556 teenagers faced charges for deepfake sex offenses—already surpassing last year’s total and outnumbering all cases recorded in 2024. By August, teens represented 59.4% of suspects involved in these crimes.

Overall, youth participation in deepfake-related offenses spiked dramatically from 2,688 cases in 2020, peaking at 4,578 in 2022, before slightly declining to 4,260 by 2024.

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