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From spy cams to deepfake porn: fury in South Korea as women targeted again

National police agency says it is investigating 513 cases of deepfake pornography as a new scandal grips the country

Recent reports about the rapid rise in deepfake porn have prompted a new round of soul-searching in a country whose positive contribution to global pop culture is being sullied by its status as the world’s digital sex crime capital. South Koreans enjoy some of the world’s fastest average internet speeds and smartphone usage rates, but that combined with the popularity of Telegram, advances in AI and lax laws has supercharged the problem. South Korean authorities, however, have been aware of the dangers of digital manipulation since 2019, when the so-called “nth room” case revealed that women, including underage girls, had been coerced into sending sexually explicit videos that were circulated online.

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