Famous actress Yeom Hye-ran also suffered a violation of her portrait rights due to an AI deepfake. Concerns that stirred Hollywood have become a reality starting in the Korean film industry, causing shock.
On the 31st, a representative of Yeom Hye-ran's agency, Ace Factory, told OSEN, "Today we confirmed that an AI video that used actress Yeom Hye-ran's likeness without permission was posted on YouTube. Our company did not have any prior consultation or permission for the production of that video, and we inform you that the video has now been made private and deleted," the agency said in an official statement.
Earlier, the film Meter Reader, which was produced using AI technology, drew attention because the protagonist resembled Yeom Hye-ran. In that regard, the Meter Reader production team had said they made the film by reproducing an actual actor's face with AI. In the process, it was presented as if Yeom Hye-ran's portrait rights had been permitted to be used, but in reality that was not the case at all. The agency has therefore taken action.
Yeom Hye-ran is a well-known actress whose name and presence are clearly etched in the public mind through performances in many works. Shorts of Yeom Hye-ran's passionate performance as Ae-sun, mother Gwang-rae, in last year's Netflix series When Life Gives You Tangerines can still be easily found on social media. In addition, Yeom Hye-ran met audiences with the film Mad Dance Office, released on the 4th, and is set to appear on screen again in the new film My Name, which opens on April 15.
Even Yeom Hye-ran has suffered damage in the form of portrait-rights infringements and unauthorized use through AI deepfakes. As artificial intelligence technology is actively introduced into film production, concerns about violations of actors' portrait rights have become a reality, causing shock.
Such damage was a concern from the moment AI technology was introduced. These concerns were first triggered overseas, when the massive Hollywood strikes in 2023 brought the controversy to the surface. In May 2023, a strike by the Writers Guild of America was followed in July of the same year by the Hollywood actors' union joining, escalating into a large-scale strike. As Hollywood blockbuster productions and various variety show studios were paralyzed, what actors and writers in Hollywood feared most was the emergence of "AI scripts" and "AI actors."
The concern was that if major Hollywood studios adopt AI technology not merely as a scene-assisting tool but broadly across production, it could seriously threaten writers' creative capacity and infringe on actors' portrait rights. Moreover, they pointed out that in a structure where profits are already concentrated with studios and platform operators, writers and actors who are part of the production are inevitably at risk of being harmed.
To prevent this, internationally famous actors joined street protests. Daniel Radcliffe, who appeared in the Harry Potter films, drew attention when he joined a picket in New York with his girlfriend while holding his son, who was only 3 months old at the time.
As a result, the Hollywood strike ended on Nov. 9 of the same year after about 118 days. The agreement included raises to members' minimum pay, increased residuals for online streaming content, and stronger contributions to health and pension plans, but it was possible because a decision was reached to create new rules on the use of artificial intelligence technology, the issue of greatest interest.
Despite Hollywood having mobilized large-scale strikes preemptively, in Korea concerns about violations of famous actors' portrait rights are becoming reality. Urgent and proactive measures are needed to address this.
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[OSEN]