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AI mockery of Korean independence activists hard to punish under current laws

Published: 27 Feb. 2026, 19:05

An AI-generated video mocking independence activist Yu Gwan-sun is uploaded to TikTok, sparking controversy. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Ahead of March 1 Independence Movement Day, generative AI videos mocking independence activist Yu Gwan-sun sparked public outrage, but punishing the creator under current laws is expected to be difficult.

Police had recently become aware of the videos posted on the social media platform TikTok, according to Yonhap on Friday. However, authorities have not yet begun a preliminary inquiry to determine whether the case warrants a formal investigation.

The TikTok user began uploading the videos Sunday, depicting Yu expressing affection for Japan’s imperial Rising Sun flag and rocketing into space by passing gas, drawing more than 200,000 views. The user continued posting even after the issue drew wider attention, and uploaded five more videos in a row on Thursday.

Yu was a teenage independence activist who took part in the 1919 March 1 Movement and became one of the most respected figures in Korean modern history. She was imprisoned at Seodaemun Prison for a year and a half and continued resisting from inside the prison before dying there in 1920 after severe mistreatment under Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945).

The videos were made using Sora, OpenAI’s video generation model. They were based on a well-known photograph of Yu in a prison uniform taken after she was jailed at Seodaemun Prison for her role in the March 1 Movement, with the AI used to recreate and caricature her face, which appeared swollen from the torture of Japanese colonial rule.

Posts mocking Kim Koo, another prominent independence activist during the Japanese colonial period, were also found on TikTok. The user wrote, “What is that face, is he even human?” over Kim’s photo, while posting praise for pro-Japanese collaborator Lee Wan-yong with a caption that read, “Wow, look at that aura, I almost peed my pants.”

Kim was a leading figure of Korea’s independence movement who relocated to China in 1919 and helped organize the independence movement there as the president of the Korean Provisional Government network. He is remembered in Korea as a central independence leader whose work in exile shaped the movement’s organization and direction.

A TikTok post mocks independence activist Kim Koo, left, and praises Japanese collaborator Lee Wan-yong. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

While criticism mounted that the videos maliciously derided historical figures, police are said to be constrained by legal limits.

“It is hard to punish such content under the law, so it is important that internet users actively report it to prevent it from being shown,” said Seo Kyoung-duk, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University.

In cases involving disparagement of the dead, authorities typically first consider defamation of the deceased, but the offense applies only when false facts are alleged. In cases of crude mockery where questions of true or false are not meaningful, the legal requirements are unlikely to be met.

It is also difficult to make insult charges apply because the offense is limited to living persons. As a result, the Korea Communications Standards Commission can do little beyond asking the platform to delete the videos.

Bills to amend the Criminal Act to establish an offense of insulting the dead were submitted to the National Assembly in April 2025, but full-scale legislative discussions tied to the side effects of generative AI are yet to gain traction.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]