Korean human rights group denounces explosion of deepfake porn on Telegram

Members of a task force to respond to sextortion on Telegram hold a press conference in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, in March 2020, calling for fundamental solutions to sexual exploitation on Telegram. (Kim Hye-yun/Hankyoreh)

With new revelations emerging almost daily about abuses related to the creation and distribution of sexually explicit deepfake images, Korean women’s rights group Womenlink is criticizing the “stateless” reality in which women live, as they no longer feel that their country will provide them with the protections they need.

Womenlink released a statement on Monday condemning South Korea’s “broken society, which has produced more than 220,000 perpetrators of sexual violence,” and questioned “how long Korea will continue to ignore this horrific situation.”

“There are approximately 227,000 members of a Telegram channel that allows people to obtain sexually explicit images of their acquaintances in five seconds by simply sending a photo and paying a fee,” Womenlink wrote in its statement.

“The large number of people participating in the channel shows that the problem is broader than the specific individuals who joined those channels to create and consume illegal content,” the organization continued.

“Korean women live in a society where crimes and violence against them are not punished or prevented, forcing them to go about their daily lives with a sense of fear. They live without a state, without the protection that the country should provide,” the group wrote.

“Can a society in which the safety of so many of its members is threatened on a daily basis, which tolerates and encourages collective acts of insult and denigration of fellow citizens, continue to exist? And more importantly, should it?” the group asked, stressing that “this is a state of national emergency.”

According to Womenlink, it is time for a social wake-up call.

“How low is the bar set for the average Korean man that this society cultivates? Women are objectified by their male peers and juniors, by their colleagues and bosses, and even by their closest acquaintances as objects to be judged based on their appearance and gender, as things to be sexually humiliated and destroyed,” the group asked.

“The objectification of female acquaintances as sex objects has become a game, causing men to look down on and shame them,” the report said.

Womenlink also condemned the Yoon Suk-yeol government’s claim that “systemic sexism does not exist.” Pointing out that these digital sex crimes were driven by misogyny and sexism, the group criticized the government, saying, “The Yoon government is trying to rationalize the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family by making the baseless claim that systemic sexism does not exist and ignoring the suffering of so many women in society. This is a clear dereliction of duty.”

“The government must make a strong commitment to government departments that are committed to gender equality and take comprehensive short- and long-term measures across all ministries to address structural sexism and violence against women,” the organization argued.

The women’s group concluded its statement by saying: “Every citizen, as a member of our community, is complicit in this horrific, normalized culture of sexual violence. We must relentlessly demand that every member of our society, regardless of gender, show respect for others.”

By Choi Yoon-ah, reporter

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