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Editing or distributing fake sexual videos (deepfakes): statutory penalty and likely requested sentence
The statutory penalty for Editing or distributing fake sexual videos (deepfakes) and the likely handling of the case depending on your circumstances. The results are for reference only.
- Statutory penalty
- Editing, synthesizing, processing or distributing: up to 7 years in prison or a fine of up to KRW 50 million / Distributing online for profit: 3 years or more in prison for a fixed term (increased by up to 1/2 if habitual)
- Legal basis
- Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, Article 14-2(1) to (3)
- Category
- Sex crimes · Sexual Violence Punishment Act
Calculate with your own circumstances
What the handling steps mean
- Detention considered · Detention (구속): being held in custody during the investigation and trial under a court warrant when there is a risk of fleeing or destroying evidence
- Formal trial · Formal trial (구공판): the prosecutor asks the court for a trial, and you stand before a judge in a courtroom
- Summary fine · Summary indictment (약식기소): a procedure in which a fine is set on the documents, without a trial in a courtroom
- Suspension of indictment possible · Suspension of indictment (기소유예): the wrongdoing is recognized, but the prosecutor takes various circumstances into account and closes the case without sending it to trial
- Referral to the Family Court possible · Domestic or juvenile protection case: instead of criminal punishment, the Family Court imposes protective dispositions such as counseling, a no-contact order or community service
Handling standards at a glance
Listed from heaviest to lightest. The actual decision depends on the results of the investigation and your circumstances.
Formal trial (prison sentence requested)
- Likely requested sentence
- 3 to 8 years in prison
Formal trial (prison sentence requested)
- Likely requested sentence
- 2 to 5 years in prison
Formal trial (prison sentence requested)
- Likely requested sentence
- 8 months to 2 years 8 months in prison
Formal trial (prison sentence requested)
- Likely requested sentence
- 1 year 8 months to 5 years in prison
Formal trial (prison sentence requested)
- Likely requested sentence
- 1 to 3 years in prison
Formal trial (prison sentence requested)
- Likely requested sentence
- Up to 1 year 4 months in prison
Formal trial (prison sentence requested)
- Likely requested sentence
- 1 year 8 months to 5 years in prison
Formal trial (prison sentence requested)
- Likely requested sentence
- 1 to 3 years in prison
Formal trial (prison sentence requested)
- Likely requested sentence
- Up to 1 year 4 months in prison
Notes
- After a 2024 amendment, merely making it is punished even without an intent to spread it, and the statutory penalty also rose (previously up to 5 years in prison).
- Possessing, buying, storing or even just viewing material while knowing it is a deepfake is punished with up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to KRW 30 million (added in 2024).
- If the subject is a child or juvenile, the provisions on 'sexual exploitation material of children and juveniles' apply and the penalty is much heavier.
Frequently asked questions
- Editing or distributing fake sexual videos (deepfakes): what is the statutory penalty?
- Legal basis: Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, Article 14-2(1) to (3). Statutory penalty: Editing, synthesizing, processing or distributing: up to 7 years in prison or a fine of up to KRW 50 million / Distributing online for profit: 3 years or more in prison for a fixed term (increased by up to 1/2 if habitual).
- Editing or distributing fake sexual videos (deepfakes): how is the case usually handled?
- Depending on the circumstances, it may be handled as follows: Formal trial (prison sentence requested). Enter your circumstances in the calculator above to see which one applies.
Other crimes in the same category
- Possessing, buying, storing or viewing illegally filmed footage
- Threats or coercion using sexual footage or synthesized material
- Intrusion into a multi-use place for a sexual purpose
- Rape or indecent assault after breaking into a home, etc.
- Indecent assault (sexual molestation by force)
- Quasi-indecent assault
- Rape
- Quasi-rape
This is only an estimate based on how investigative agencies usually handle cases. The actual decision and request depend on the facts of the case, such as a settlement, prior convictions and how the crime happened, and on the judgment of the prosecutor in charge; the final sentence is decided by the court. If you are about to be questioned, do not rely on this result alone and talk to a lawyer first.
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