It has been revealed that a current police officer, who was arrested and indicted for creating and distributing deepfake sexual exploitation materials using acquaintances' faces on Telegram, had previously received a suspension of indictment before joining the force for secretly filming a woman's body at a bus stop.

According to data submitted by the Korean National Police Agency to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Seo Myeong-ok, 28-year-old Police Officer Kong, assigned to the Seoul Dongdaemun Police Station and indicted for violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sex Offenses and the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, already had a record of receiving a suspension of indictment for violating the sexual violence punishment act in 2021 before entering the police force.

He was accused of secretly filming a woman's legs and buttocks with his cell phone at a bus stop in September 2020.

A suspension of indictment is a disposition where a prosecutor decides not to send a case to trial, taking into account circumstances such as the severity of the charges and settlements with the victim, even though the criminal charges are acknowledged.

During the process of Kong's appointment as a police officer in late December 2023, the police failed to verify this record.

This is because criminal records and investigation histories regarding matters currently under investigation or trial can be checked during police recruitment, but a suspension of indictment is not included in the scope of such inquiries.

Officer Kong, who had been producing and possessing illicit sexual videos even before becoming a police officer, was caught in July of this year.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency was conducting an undercover investigation, approaching suspects under covert identities to catch individuals distributing illegal sexual exploitation materials via Telegram, only to find out that the suspect was a current police officer.

According to the investigation results, Kong was found to have created around 400 false video materials and possessed approximately 5,600 illegal videos from 2022 until July of this year.

It was also revealed that while committing sex crimes behind the scenes, Kong was evaluated as a "diligent colleague" at work and received three commendations in just over two years of his police career.

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video edited by Hong Jin-young | Design by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News