[Exclusive] Lee Eonju Files Police Complaint Against Executive for Distributing Deepfake Pornographic Images

Violation of the Act on Sexual Crimes and Defamation Charges
"Hospitalized Due to Psychological Trauma"

Lee Eonju, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, has filed a police complaint against a company executive with a doctoral degree for distributing pornographic deepfake images and defamatory posts featuring her on social networking services (SNS).

On July 3, Lee's legal representative, Law Firm Oreunhaneul, announced that they had filed a complaint with the Cyber Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, accusing executive A of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (for editing and distributing false video materials) and of defamation.

Lee Eonju, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is looking at Lee Seongyun, a Democratic Party lawmaker speaking about the controversy over the nomination of the special prosecutor candidate at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on February 9. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

In the complaint, Lee's side argued, "Posts combining sexually suggestive deepfake images and sexually demeaning expressions clearly go beyond the scope of political opinion or satire," and described the acts as "digital sexual violence that severely infringes on the rights to sexual self-determination, personal dignity, and social reputation." They further stated, "According to Supreme Court precedents, if a person's social evaluation is diminished even by nonverbal or visual expressions, it constitutes defamation. In light of this, the accused's actions also amount to defamation," urging authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and impose strict punishment.

Executive A, who has previously posted political satire on his SNS, publicly posted five deepfake images featuring Lee's face over a two-day period starting July 1. The posts included composite images involving a toilet, a snail, a snake, and a watermelon.

Lee maintains that one of the pornographic deepfake posts constitutes an "imaginary concurrence" (simultaneous violation) of both the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and defamation, while each of the remaining posts should be punished separately as distinct acts of defamation.

An official from Lee's office told The Asia Business Daily on July 3, "Lee has recently been hospitalized and is receiving treatment today due to severe psychological shock and stress caused by the sexual violence-related terror content that was recently posted."

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