Police are investigating the incident where a deepfake video combining the faces of the president and first lady was played at a rally supporting President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment held in Gwangju.
A Korean National Police Agency official said at a regular press briefing on the 17th, "The Cyber Investigation Unit of the Seoul Police Agency has begun a pre-investigation," and added, "If a complaint is filed, an investigation will take place." The official noted they are also considering whether the future investigative authority will be the Seoul Police Agency or the Gwangju Police Agency.
◇ Deepfake video of the Yoon couple played at a counter-rally against the 'Impeachment opposition' rally
Earlier, the Gwangju Emergency Action (Gwangju Emergency Action), composed of civic groups in the Gwangju region calling for the immediate resignation of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and social reforms, held the 14th Gwangju Citizen General Assembly on the 15th in Gwangju's Geumnam-ro 1-3. This was in response to a national emergency prayer meeting against President Yoon's impeachment held by the conservative Christian group Save Korea at the May 18th Democracy Square in Dong-gu, Gwangju.
A group participating in the pro-impeachment rally reportedly played a 3-minute and 20-second deepfake video several times showing President Yoon in underwear and Kim Keon-hee in a swimsuit. In response, the presidential office stated, "There is no way to contain our anger over the mockery of the sitting president and first lady, which goes beyond mere ridicule to personal insult and violation of human rights, as well as a criminal act using deepfake technology," and announced plans to take strong legal action.
The People Power Party also issued a statement saying, "Before they are the president and first lady, they are citizens of the Republic of Korea," and noted, "This is a serious personal insult and a clear sexual violence crime that goes beyond simple political criticism or satire." The party is reportedly preparing to file a complaint with the Seoul Police Agency against those involved in the production and screening of the video for violating the sexual violence crime prevention law.
◇ 125 investigated for unrest at the Western District Court… statute of limitations expired for the 'obscenity allegations' against Moon Hyung-bae's café
An official from the Central Investigation Unit stated that as of now, 125 individuals have been investigated in relation to the unrest at the Seoul Western District Court that occurred on the 19th of last month. Among them, 74 were detained, and the remaining 51 are under investigation without detention. Of those detained, 70 have been referred to the prosecution. Police plan to refer the remaining four individuals sequentially. The official noted, "We are investigating the behind-the-scenes forces by analyzing posts from online conservative communities and YouTube videos."
Regarding the investigation related to Reverend Jeon Kwang-hoon of Sarang First Church, he stated, "We are reviewing the legal rationale and conducting preliminary investigations concerning allegations of inciting rebellion," and added, "We are also examining whether other charges can be applied." Reverend Jeon is suspected of being behind the unrest at the Western District Court.
As for the circumstances involving a conspiracy to incite unrest at the Constitutional Court on an online community, he mentioned, "We are focusing our investigation on 60 posts up until the 13th."
The allegations that obscene material was shared in the internet café associated with Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae were deemed to fall within the statute of limitations. An official stated, "Since this incident occurred in 2009, it appears that the statute of limitations related to posting or viewing has expired," and added, "Unless recent acts have emerged, it is difficult to view this as complicity in the posting of obscene material."