South Korea Deepfake Telegram Channels Target 220,000+ Women and Minors

In August 2024, South Korean media outlet Hankyoreh and police investigations revealed a network of Telegram channels — some with hundreds of thousands of subscribers — generating and distributing AI-deepfake sexual imagery of identified Korean women, including high-school students. Researchers estimated 220,000+ unique targets across the channels. Many channels were 'school-specific,' targeting named students at known institutions. The exposure prompted emergency action from Korea's National Police Agency, the Korean Communications Standards Commission, and parliament — which fast-tracked criminal penalties for possession and consumption of deepfake sexual imagery, not just distribution, in late 2024. South Korea's case is among the most-cited globally as evidence that deepfake non-consensual imagery operates at industrial scale rather than as isolated incidents.