Deep Fei: In South Korea, which is serious about preventing sex crimes, absurd questions are asked to beauty pageant candidates

In South Korea, where fake sexual images called "DeepFei" are being created using artificial intelligence (AI) based on photos and videos of women, the spread of these images has become a social problem.
The revised bill, which would impose penalties on users in cases where they have engaged in sexual assault using DeepFei, was passed by the National Assembly of South Korea on the 26th of last month. The Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported that "the revised bill that was passed this time focuses on strengthening penalties for digital sex crimes using DeepFei.
Meanwhile, at the Miss Korea beauty contest held last month, Deep Fei-related questions were asked of the candidates, sparking controversy.
"The question itself is sexual harassment," and criticism has been mounting, with protests being sent one after another to the official social media account of the tournament.
The number of DeepFei sex crimes in South Korea was 156 in 2021, when statistics began to be collected, but by July this year, the number had already risen to 297.
In May, Seoul University graduates made a Deep Fei-style obscene video based on photos of classmates posted in their yearbooks and on social media, and distributed it through a Telegram chat room.
The act of distributing fake images created by generative AI and other methods is prohibited by law, and so far this year 178 people have been charged. Many of the victims are minors, and the perpetrators are also
Seventy percent of the respondents were teenagers. Since late August, Korean media outlets have been reporting on the existence of numerous chat rooms on Telegram where users share fake sexual images, and this issue has come to the forefront.
This has attracted attention. Overseas media has also reported on the incident, with the British newspaper The Guardian reporting at the time that "South Korea is battling a sharp rise in DeepFei sex crimes."
President Yoon Seok-yeol said in August, "Recently, deep-deep videos targeting an unspecified number of individuals have been distributed on social media.
The ministry also warned that such crimes are spreading rapidly through the internet and instructed police authorities to thoroughly investigate and eradicate them.
In South Korea, legal reforms were made in 2020 regarding sexual assaults on communication apps, but the situation has not been curbed.
In response to growing calls for tougher penalties, the government has begun to further strengthen its measures. On the 26th of last month, the National Diet introduced a 30-day prison sentence for anyone who possesses or views sexually explicit images while knowing that they are such.
The bill also includes the Deep Fei Sexual Crimes Act, which imposes a prison sentence of up to 12 years or a fine of up to 30 million won (approximately 3.27 million yen).
The current maximum sentence for disseminating information that is illegal will be increased from five years to seven years. The previous requirement of proving the intent to disseminate information will also be eliminated.
Deep Fei-kun is working on eradicating sexual crimes nationwide, and this year's Miss Korea selection competition was held on the 24th of last month.
The organizers then asked the candidates, "If you think you are more attractive in the Deep Fei video, how do you think you can narrow the gap between your real self and the video?"
On the internet, comments included, "Most victims of DeepFei sex crimes are women, so is this really a question to ask at a beauty pageant?", "A really meaningless question," and "With so many victims suffering, this
Criticism of the Miss Korea contest itself has also been mounting, with some arguing that it "commodifies women's sexuality."
According to the Korean newspaper Hankyoreh, Kim Hye-jeong, director of the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center, said in an interview with the newspaper, "We have a video of a real victim, Deep Fei.
"It's unbearable to hear how they've created a virtual appearance competition and turned the questions into ones that participants can't even answer, like 'Deep Fei sex crimes are a serious problem.'"
Regarding the intention of the question, the organizers said, "We asked the question to hear people's thoughts on a society in which AI virtual technology is widely used in movies, advertisements, education, etc., but
Considering the reality that Fei Ku's videos are being misused as illegal sexual footage, I should have been more careful with my questions," he said in his apology.