Possession or Viewing of Deepfake Sexual Exploitation Material Punishable by Imprisonment... Sex Crime Prevention Law Passed by National Assembly

The Sexual Violence Punishment Act, which penalizes possession or even viewing of sexually exploitative materials using deepfake technology, passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 26th.

On that day, the National Assembly passed the Deepfake Sexual Crime Prevention Act with 241 votes in favor, 0 against, and 8 abstentions out of 249 members present.

The bill stipulates that possession, purchase, storage, or viewing of deepfake sexually exploitative videos can result in imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

National Assembly Main Chamber
Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly raised controversy over the phrase "knowingly" in Article 14, Paragraph 2 of the Deepfake Sexual Crime Prevention Act.

This was because there were conflicting opinions: one side argued that there is a possibility of punishment even if the person did not realize the material was illegal deepfake sexual exploitation content when storing it, while the other side claimed it could cause conflicts with the current legal system and legal terminology.

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee approved the bill including the phrase "knowingly," but the opposition party submitted an amendment deleting this clause before the plenary session, which was then approved. Therefore, even if one does not know that the material is a deepfake video, they can still be punished for viewing or possessing it.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.