80% of suspects in deepfake sex crimes are teenagers... "It's important to recognize crime, not play."

[Anchor]
While "deepfake" sex crimes through false videos are on the rise, police have detected more than 500 cases this year alone.

80% of the suspects are teenagers, and it seems urgent to come up with countermeasures.

Reporter Lim Ye-jin reports.

[Reporter]
"The police have caught middle school students who produced and distributed synthetic videos and deepfakes using pictures of female students."

"Teenagers are penetrating deep into our society to the extent that they participate in crime."

Deepfake sex crimes are also rampant as artificial intelligence and AI technology spread deep into our lives.

From elementary school to university, it became a social problem by sharing deepfake sex crime videos on SNS, and the Ministry of Education hurriedly launched an investigation.

As far as last month, more than 900 students were affected in elementary, middle and high schools alone.

The police also arrested 570 people by last month through an all-round investigation this year.

However, eight out of ten suspects were teenagers.

There were even 100 boys between the ages of 10 and 14 who were not subject to criminal punishment.

Experts say that the production and dissemination of false videos is perceived by teenagers as a play rather than a crime, stressing the need for strong punishment and prevention education.

[Heo Min-sook / National Assembly Legislative Investigation Agency Investigator: From elementary school onwards, education on why this should not be a crime, why this is a matter of human rights, why it is so important to respect others as much as you are respected should be thoroughly conducted.]

Since August, when police began to crack down on deepfake sex crimes, seven cases have been received a day.

The police plan to continue the crackdown until March next year and come up with a plan to quickly remove illegal composites to protect victims.

I'm YTN's Lim Yejin.

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Video: Yun Yong-jun
Design: Oh Jae-young