Fake AI Images Depicting Colleague as Lover Deemed Sexual Crime Despite Claims of No 'Sexual Desire'

[Anchor]

We previously reported that a mid-level official at a district office in Seoul was put on trial after creating AI-generated composite images that doctored a female coworker's photos to portray them as a couple. Six months after the SBS report, a court has ruled that the act constitutes a sex crime.

Reporter An Hee-jae has the details.

[Reporter]

A woman wearing a tight sleeveless top and jeans hugs a middle-aged man and looks at him with her hand on his shoulder.

Last November, official A at the Guro District Office in Seoul downloaded photos of female coworker B from the internal network and fed them into a generative AI tool along with his own photos to create several such composite images.

He uploaded them to his KakaoTalk profile. After seeing them, victim B filed a complaint, stating that she felt intense humiliation over the composite images portraying them as lovers. One month after the initial SBS report in April, A was sent to trial on charges including the violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes.

While police initially concluded that defamation was established but it did not amount to a sex crime, prosecutors indicted him, stating, "Everyone has the freedom not to be objectified sexually against their will." Today, on September 11, the first-instance court ruled him guilty on all charges.

A claimed that he merely had a crush on B and that the acts had nothing to do with sexual desire. However, the court dismissed the argument, stating that whether something induces sexual shame is not determined by the degree of exposure, such as nudity or underwear.

The court also noted that the nature of the crime is grave and that it is doubtful whether the defendant is genuinely remorseful, but sentenced him to a fine of 6 million won considering factors such as his being a first-time offender.

[Victim B / 'AI Composite' Victim : I am glad that the court listened to the victim's voice. However, I am somewhat disappointed with the sentence, and I wonder if it will play a sufficient role in preventing similar crimes....]

(Video Editing: Park Choon-bae, Design: Jang Sung-bum)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.