Korea moves to criminalize AI-generated sexual content of fictional people

South Korea's National Assembly is reviewing a bill, introduced by Rep. Huh Young and nine other lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Korea, that would criminalize the creation, distribution, and possession of AI-generated sexually explicit content even when it depicts fictional people. The amendment to the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes responds to a 66 percent rise in reported digital sex crimes from 9,385 cases in 2015 to 15,612 cases in 2024, with deepfake sex crimes increasing sharply.

A bill that would criminalize sexually explicit content featuring fictional people generated by artificial intelligence AI has recently been referred to detailed review by the Subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The proposal, introduced by Rep. Huh Young and nine other lawmakers of the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea DPK , would criminalize the creation, distribution and possession of sexually explicit material made using the technology, even when it does not depict a real person. The amendment to the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes comes in response to the proliferation of sexually explicit content created using AI and other new technologies, while related harm is rising rapidly. A report released last month by the state-funded Korean Women’s Development Institute showed that reported digital sex crimes rose 66 percent over nine years, from 9,385 cases in 2015 to 15,612 cases in 2024. Deepfake sex crimes have increased particularly sharply. They accounted for just 31 cases, or 0.3 percent of all re