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The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union holds a press conference to announce the findings of its survey on deepfake sex crimes in Korea’s schools outside the government complex in Seoul on Aug. 29, 2024. (Yonhap)

A survey of students, teachers and staff at K-12 schools in Korea found that over 20% of respondents said that they were either direct or indirect victims of deepfake pornography. The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU), which conducted the survey, issued a statement calling on the government to recognize this as a “national disaster,” and to “take action to erase all illegal content online, and enforce severe disciplinary action.”

The KTU held a press conference outside the government complex in Seoul on Thursday to announce the results of its survey. 

The union surveyed 2,492 students and teachers at preschools, elementary schools, middle schools and high schools. Among them, 517 (20.7%) responded that they had been indirect or direct victims of illegal deepfake pornography. 

Among these 517 respondents, 29 (16 teachers, 13 students) said that they had personally confirmed the deepfakes that utilized photos of themselves. A total of 488 respondents (188 teachers, 291 students, nine school staffers) said that they became aware of the deepfakes through their acquaintances and friends. 

“As such incidents are occurring rampantly throughout the entire country, you can imagine that people in schools nationwide are shocked by the crimes,” the union said in a statement. The KTU’s survey was conducted from Aug. 27 to 28. 

Among the respondents who replied that they had personally discovered the deepfakes, 12 were in middle schools, 10 were in high schools, five were in elementary schools, one was in preschool, and one was in a public administrative position. Additionally, 26.3% responded that they suspected they were victims of deepfake crimes, but had yet to discover hard evidence. The KTU views this as “evidence of the particular nature of deepfake sex crimes, where it is often difficult to find direct evidence.” 

Moreover, one teacher and six students who said they had been targeted were male. 

There were also a significant number of incidents where the criminals utilized the production and distribution of deepfakes to blackmail the victims. In the survey, 14 victims (six teachers, eight students) said that they had been blackmailed.

“The affected schools are being leaked on social media. The victims at these schools, mostly female, are being blackmailed by the threat of deepfakes proliferating and being distributed. Perpetrators are demanding additional photos, details about their identity, and money,” the KTU said. 

“We need to conduct follow-up investigations as there will be more victims going forward.” 

When questioned about whether authorities were thoroughly investigating such deepfake crimes and prosecuting the criminals, 62.3% of respondents replied, “Absolutely not.” 

“We view the current situation as the result of lax punishments for sex crimes; lackadaisical investigation into such crimes; policies that do not acknowledge the systematic and structural nature of sexual violence and sexual exploitation, including digital sex crimes, and simply examine crimes on a case-by-case basis; and budget cuts pertaining to preventative measures for violence against women and to therapeutic programs for victims,” the KTU said. 

When subjects were questioned about what they’d like to see the government do as the most urgent countermeasure, 76.4% of them responded, “Pan-government funding for efforts to erase videos and photos.” In short, the majority of respondents wanted the government to take action to ensure that no additional damage is caused by the deepfake content that’s been posted online. 

When questioned about potential preventative measures, 81.2% of respondents said the state needs to draft laws that punish people for possessing or viewing illegal deepfakes and to increase the severity of punishments for those who produce them. 

“To address the roots of the illegal deepfake sex crimes, we need laws that make it a crime to even possess or view such content,” the KTU demanded. 

By Kim Ga-yoon, staff reporter

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