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The suspect who produced and distributed hundreds of AI-utilizing sexually exploitative materials turned out to be a serving police officer in his 20s. Despite having previously received a suspension of indictment, he was appointed to the police force and continued his crimes even afterward.

Reporter Yoo Soo-Hwan has the story.

[Reporter]

"Sexually exploitative materials produced using artificial intelligence (AI) are being distributed in Telegram chat rooms."

Catching wind of such circumstances in December of last year, the Cyber Investigation Unit of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency obtained a court warrant and initiated an "undercover investigation."

[Lee Kyung-min / Head of the Cyber Investigation Unit, Busan Metropolitan Police Agency: Since the law was revised in June of last year to allow undercover investigations even if the victim is an adult, we launched our first undercover investigation in December of last year and identified the operator and distributors....]

Following months of tracking, the suspect identified by the police was none other than Police Officer A, a serving police officer assigned to the Traffic Division of the Seoul Dongdaemun Police Station.

A total of 5,600 illegal videos were discovered on Officer A's cell phone during a search and seizure conducted in August.

These included 1,600 child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials and 1,300 illegally filmed videos secretly capturing women's bodies.

Officer A is also suspected of directly producing over 400 deepfake materials—meaning sexually exploitative content intricately manipulated using AI, such as superimposing nude images onto photos of acquaintances posted on social media—and distributing some of them in Telegram rooms.

It was also revealed that he had received a suspension of indictment for illegal filming in 2020, before becoming a police officer.

Nevertheless, he began directly producing and distributing sexually exploitative materials starting in 2022, and continued his crimes for nearly three years even after being appointed as a police officer in 2023.

The police explained, "Officer A was suspended from duty immediately after being arrested last month," and added, "The suspension of indictment received before his police appointment did not constitute a 'disqualifying factor,' so there were no issues with his recruitment."

(Video Editing: Lee Seung-yul)