South Korea’s Deepfake Sexual Crime Law

Article 14-2 of South Korea’s Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes addresses certain non-consensual altered or synthetic sexual imagery. Its text covers editing, synthesis or processing of a photograph, video or audio depicting a person’s face, body or voice, against that person’s will, into a form likely to cause sexual desire or shame. The offense is tied to a real person and specified sexualized content; “deepfake” is a common label, not a substitute for the statutory elements. The 2024 amendment strengthened penalties and added liability for possession, purchase, storage or viewing. Under the current provision, creation under paragraph 1 and distribution under paragraph 2 can be punished by up to seven years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 50 million won. Distribution for profit using an information network carries a minimum three-year sentence. A person who possesses, purchases, stores or views the covered material or copies may face up to three years’ imprisonment or a fine up to 30 million won. The amendments took effect October 16, 2024. The Act’s current consolidated text retains these penalties as of the 2025 amendment compilation. This is a criminal statute, distinct from school policies, platform moderation and civil remedies. Other laws can apply to threats, extortion, child sexual abuse material, privacy invasion or election-related fabrication. At the same time, not every synthetic or edited image is criminalized by Article 14-2; prosecutors must establish the provision’s subject, lack of consent, sexualized form and relevant conduct. The legal definition does not make a platform label a defense or render all lawful satire, fiction or nonsexual media illegal.