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An active-duty police officer has been arrested on charges of using artificial intelligence to create and distribute sexual exploitation materials. He was caught by investigators conducting an undercover operation while hiding his identity in a Telegram chat room.

Reporting by Yoo Soo-Hwan.

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Police Officer A, assigned to the Seoul Dongdaemun Police Station, was arrested last month on charges of creating and distributing AI-generated sexual exploitation materials in Telegram chat rooms.

Investigations showed that Officer A used photos posted on social media over a four-year period from 2022 to July of this year to produce about 400 fake videos.

He is accused of distributing about 50 of these videos through messenger services such as Telegram.

Officer A was caught by police officers who were conducting an undercover investigation in Telegram messenger chat rooms.

Since December of last year, the Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Busan Provincial Police Agency had been conducting covert undercover operations by infiltrating Telegram.

Following revisions to the law triggered by cases such as the "Nth Room" and "Baksa Room" scandals, police are permitted to conduct undercover operations for digital sex crimes with court approval.

Having detected Officer A's crimes, police conducted a search and seizure operation in August, securing Officer A's mobile phone and computer.

It was reported that thousands of illegal recordings, including fake videos and child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials, were discovered on Officer A's mobile phone at the time.

After receiving notification of the investigation from the Busan Provincial Police Agency, the Seoul Dongdaemun Police Station placed Officer A on standby and suspended him from duty immediately following his arrest last month.

Investigations revealed that Officer A had been working as a police officer since December 2023, meaning he continued his crimes for nearly three years while wearing a police uniform.

The police stated that they plan to proceed with disciplinary procedures against Officer A while monitoring the trial.

[Video Editing: Lee Seung-yeol]