The education authorities have decided to transfer a high school student in Gyeongnam, South Korea, who is currently under investigation by the Gyeongnam Provincial Police for deepfake sexual crimes. This decision follows separate allegations of school violence.
On Monday, the victim’s parents reported that the School Violence Countermeasure Committee (SVC) mandated several measures for the accused student. These included a written apology, a transfer to a different school, and five hours of special education. Additionally, the student’s parents were required to complete three hours of special education.
According to the SVC’s notification, the committee confirmed the facts of the school violence based on the students’ statements and the school’s investigation reports.
The notification detailed that in June, the accused student sent a photo of another student’s face to an unknown individual on Twitter, commissioned the creation of synthetic images, and received three to four photos that exposed parts of the victim’s body. The student also created a fake Twitter account using the victim’s name and posted synthetic pictures of her face and body, requesting others to share the links.
The SVC further explained, “The student posted identifiable labels, daily photos, and synthetic images of the victim online more than three times over a period. Despite claims of not foreseeing the harm or impact on the victim, the student continued to post-synthetic images along with identifiable daily photos.”
The committee added, “Rather than limiting these actions to a single instance, the student repeatedly posted photos, deactivated and reactivated the account, and accepted followers. This behavior led to the widespread dissemination of synthetic images online, which constitutes school violence and resulted in physical, mental, and financial harm to the victim.”
The SVC clarified its decision by stating, “We considered various factors, including the type and severity of the actions, their persistence, intent, remorse, and attempts at reconciliation. We also evaluated the need for corrective education to improve awareness of school violence, prevent future occurrences, and the appropriateness of the measures taken.”
The victim’s parent recently confirmed that their child had been targeted by deepfake crimes and reported the incident to the police. The Gyeongnam Provincial Police are investigating the case, and it has been reported that the accused confessed to the crime during questioning.
