Fake sexual images of me are spreading in Korea. What can I do?

Making an edited sexual image of a real person against that person's will is a crime in Korea by itself, punishable by as much as 7 years of imprisonment, or 50 million won as a fine, and whoever then spreads it faces the same bracket. Nothing has to have happened to you for the offence to exist, and it makes no difference that the face came from an ordinary photograph you posted yourself. People who keep, buy, store or even watch such a file can be punished too. So report it, record the addresses before they move, and ask for blocking. Do not open negotiations with whoever is distributing it.

Is it really a crime if the picture is not real?

Yes, and the law is written around exactly this. Editing, combining or processing a person's face, body or voice into a form capable of causing sexual desire or shame, against the will of the person shown, is punished on its own. Spreading the result is punished at the same level, and that includes the case where you agreed to the editing but never agreed to it being circulated. Where it is done for profit over an online network, the floor is 3 years of imprisonment. Possessing, buying, storing or watching the file is a lower but real offence, a habitual offender faces an increased penalty, and an attempt is punishable.

What do I record, and how?

Work fast, because accounts and posts get deleted and replaced:

1. Capture each place it appears so that the full web address and the day it was taken both show in the same image, not cropped away.
2. Note the account names, display names and any profile links that posted or re-posted it.
3. Save the message or group chat where someone sent it to you, including who sent it and when.
4. Find the original photograph the fake was built from, and where you had posted it. This often identifies who had access.
5. List the people who told you about it, so investigators have witnesses other than you.

Do not message the uploader to ask for a deletion. It warns them to clear the account and most often destroys the trail.

How does material actually get blocked?

Once the police receive a report and confirm the file is circulating online, they must ask the broadcasting and communications review body and the service provider or board operator to delete it or cut off access, and must explain the process to you. A state centre set up for people harmed by digital sexual crime also hunts for copies and chases removals. Two limits are worth knowing. A Korean request has no direct force over a server outside Korea, so submit the platform's own report form in parallel. And removal is not final: copies reappear, which is why your saved addresses matter later.

It is circulating among people from my country, abroad. Does Korea still act?

Where the person who made or spread the file is in Korea, Korean criminal law applies to them, and an audience abroad does not change the offence. Investigators here have a special power: they may collect evidence online while keeping their status as officers hidden, and, on stricter conditions, under an assumed identity.

Keep material in its original language and add a Korean translation of the parts you rely on, such as a caption that names you. Ask the officer to record which account posted which file, rather than describing the spread in general terms, since that list is what supports later takedown requests.

How do I give a statement if my Korean is limited?

• An interpreter can be commissioned for the questioning. Say at the start if you cannot follow what is asked.
• You may appoint a lawyer for the criminal process, who can take part in the questioning and state an opinion. Where a victim has no lawyer one may be appointed, and for a victim under 19 one must be.
• Someone you trust may be allowed to stay at your side during questioning and when you give evidence. For this offence the request is granted unless there is an unavoidable reason to refuse.
• Your identity and private life are protected by a separate prohibition on disclosure, which applies to officials and to the press.

What about my own stay in Korea?

Reporting this does not alter the permission you hold. If your card expires while the case is running, raise it with your lawyer early rather than at the counter on the last day: the law does provide for extending the stay of a foreign victim while a sexual offence case continues, and whether your case fits is something to confirm, not assume. Officials handling such a case are also permitted not to pass on a person whose stay has lapsed, when they conclude that the harm done should be dealt with first. That judgement is made case by case.

Next step

Put the captures, account names and original photograph in one folder, with the dates in order. Bring your residence card (외국인등록증). We can go through what the police will need, what the platforms can be asked, and how your stay is handled. Consultations are charged, and the fee is explained when our staff return your call.

법무법인 대한중앙
1533-7377

Rules applied

Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (성폭력범죄의 처벌 등에 관한 특례법) Article 14-2(1) (editing, combining or processing a person's face, body or voice into a sexual form against that person's will: up to 7 years or 50 million won), (2) (distribution of the edited material or a copy, including where the editing itself was consented to), (3) (for profit through an information and communications network: at least 3 years), (4) (possession, purchase, storage or viewing: up to 3 years or 30 million won), (5) (habitual offences aggravated by up to one half), Article 15 (attempt), Article 22-2(1) (undisclosed identity investigation of digital sexual crimes) and (2) (investigation under an assumed identity, on stricter conditions), Article 23-2(1) (police must request deletion or blocking from the review body and the service provider or board operator, and must inform the victim of the procedure), Article 24 (prohibition on disclosing the victim's identity and private life), Article 27(1) to (3) and (6) (a victim may appoint a lawyer, who may take part in questioning and state an opinion; appointment for a victim with no lawyer, and mandatory appointment for a victim under 19), Article 34(1) item 1 and (2) (a trusted person may sit with the victim of an Article 14-2 offence, in court and in the investigation). Criminal Procedure Act (형사소송법) Article 221(2) (interpretation and translation may be commissioned for an investigation). Immigration Act (출입국관리법) Article 25-2(1) item 2 (extension of stay while a sexual crime case continues), Article 84(1); Enforcement Decree Article 92-2 item 5; Enforcement Rule Article 70-2 item 2. Named without article numbers: 디지털성범죄피해자지원센터.

This is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different.