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Deepfake sexual videos may be fabricated in an instant, but the suffering and consequences victims face after their distribution are very real. Victims are forced to prove that they are not the person depicted, find and present the original photographs, and endure the judgment of those around them. An investigation that should focus on “Who created and distributed the material?” sometimes shifts toward questioning the victim: “Why did you post your photos on social media?”

Courts have imposed substantial prison sentences for crimes involving the creation and distribution of deepfakes. In September, the Incheon District Court sentenced a teenage defendant who had created and distributed deepfake sexual exploitation material targeting 11 people, including teachers and students, on 35 occasions to an indeterminate prison term of between one year and six months and two years. The defendant was taken into custody in court.

The manipulated photographs and videos of five of the teachers were accompanied by their real names, ages, schools, subjects taught, mobile phone numbers, and social media accounts. Following the incident, the victims suffered severe psychological distress and struggled to carry on with everyday life, requiring ongoing psychological treatment.

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Legal experts also stress that publicly sharing everyday photographs cannot be interpreted as consent to their use in sexually manipulated images or their distribution. Jeon Hyeong-hwan, managing attorney at MegaX Law Office, explained: “During an investigation or trial, arguing that ‘the photos were posted by the victims themselves’ provides no legal grounds for exemption from liability. On the contrary, a defendant’s attempt to shift responsibility onto the victim may be viewed as demonstrating a lack of remorse and weigh heavily against them at sentencing.”

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“Sending sexual videos back to the victim may, depending on the circumstances, be punishable as an offense involving obscene communications through telecommunications media. Spreading the material or details of the incident to others may also constitute the provision or distribution of manipulated sexual material, or defamation,” Jeon said. “Even third parties who were not the original distributors can face serious legal liability for each individual act.”

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As a guiding rule for those around the victim, Jeon emphasized: “Share information, not the video.” This means documenting only the information needed to report the material—such as the URL of the post, the account ID, and the time it was discovered—and passing it to a specialist organization. The victim’s video file itself must never be recirculated.

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