Vast majority of deepfake crimes target women in teens and twenties: Data
Published: 16 Apr. 2026, 17:52
![An AI-generated illustration shows a person creating a deepfake [CHATGPT]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/9316bb77-ace6-41c7-92f1-29a7a9c744d7.jpg)
An AI-generated illustration shows a person creating a deepfake [CHATGPT]
Almost 8 out of 10 victims of digital sex crimes, including pornographic material created using AI deepfake technology, were women in their teens and 20s, government data showed Thursday, pointing to an increasing online threat against young women.
According to a report by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Women’s Human Rights Institute of Korea, deepfake abuse in particular, was more heavily concentrated among younger people.
Last Wednesday in Ulsan, a man was arrested and detained for charges of making and selling deepfake videos of his former girlfriend and minors.
The suspect also allegedly advertised creating deepfake content of other people on request.
The suspect reportedly told police he did it out of curiosity and to earn pocket money, but victims live in constant fear that they may be being preyed on without their knowledge.
A total of 10,637 victims received support through the National Center for Digital Sexual Crime Response last year, up 3.2 percent from a year earlier. People in their 20s accounted for 5,226 victims, or 49.1 percent, while teenagers made up 3,032, or 28.5 percent.
Victims of AI-based synthetic and edited content, such as deepfakes, were even younger. Of the 1,616 victims in that category, teenagers and people in their 20s accounted for 91.2 percent. Women made up 97.8 percent of the victims, far outnumbering men at 2.2 percent.
As perpetrators become more sophisticated in avoiding detection, more victims are finding themselves unable to identify who targeted them in the first place. Cases in which the perpetrator could not be identified accounted for the largest share, at 3,088 victims, or 29.0 percent, up about 21.1 percent from a year earlier.
The report attributed that increase to the nature of digital platforms, where content can be distributed through overseas servers and easily re-edited and reposted by unspecified users.
![A warning about the production and distribution of deepfake videos is shown at the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency in Daejeon in 2024. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/661c709b-00a0-46a5-8e8b-514b57811074.jpg)
A warning about the production and distribution of deepfake videos is shown at the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency in Daejeon in 2024. [NEWS1]
The biggest pain victims described was the fear that the deepfake content could circulate online. Cases involving anxiety over possible distribution totaled 4,884, or 27.7 percent of all victims, making it the largest category for a second straight year.
The finding suggests that more victims are living with fear over possible circulation as deepfake technology spreads.
The total number of support measures provided by the center last year reached 352,103, up 5.9 percent from the year before. Requests to remove explicit material accounted for 318,020 cases, or 90.3 percent of the total.
“We have laid the groundwork for more efficient and proactive responses by upgrading the system to automate deletion requests and building an AI system capable of responding in advance to the online sexual exploitation of children and teenagers,” a ministry official said.
“The government plans to launch an interagency support task force for victims of digital sex crimes in May to strengthen sanctions against websites that refuse removal requests or repeatedly repost content and to block distribution more quickly.”
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 NAM-YOUNG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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