BUSAN — Two members of the Busan Metropolitan Council have filed police reports after being targeted in separate deepfake crimes as politically motivated digital attacks intensify ahead of next year’s local elections.
Deepfake attacks targeting local politicians are increasing, prompting calls for stronger preventive measures. One councilor received a threatening message on Oct. 15 that included a digitally doctored photo showing their face superimposed onto pornographic material.
The message demanded money in exchange for not releasing the image. The councilor initially dismissed it as spam and did not respond. Soon after, the image spread widely among fellow council members through publicly available phone numbers. The next day, the councilor filed a police report, citing violations of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.
“I was stunned to learn that a photo I’ve never seen was being shared with my colleagues,” the councilor said. “I had no choice but to change my phone number to prevent further threats, but this is a serious obstacle to election activities.
“I can’t even properly explain that the image is fake. I’m especially worried that older voters, who may not understand deepfake technology, could mistake it for something real.”
Another councilor, a man, received a message on Oct. 18 through Telegram from an unknown sender. The message included a deepfake image showing him holding hands or linking arms with an unidentified woman.
![This picture shows a poster for the prevention of deepfake sexual exploitation crimes. [NEWS1]](https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2025/10/22/0000078679_002_20251022170216151.jpg?type=w860)
The sender threatened him, saying, “If you run for district office next year, I won’t let it slide. I’ve already made everything from nudes to affair photos.” The user deleted the Telegram account immediately after sending the message.
Both councilors have requested police investigations, but they say that they have been told it may be difficult to track down the perpetrators. The first councilor said the police traced the deepfake attacks to servers based overseas, including Cambodia.
“The investigation is ongoing, but the police said it might be hard to identify the culprit,” the councilor said.
In a similar case last November, more than 10 members of the Dong District Council in Busan, including Councilor Kim Hee-jae, were targeted in a coordinated deepfake attack. That investigation remains unresolved.
The Busan Metropolitan Council plans to strengthen phishing and cybercrime prevention education for its members.
“The council should operate a reporting center to support swift investigations,” Councilor Jeon Won-seok said. “We urgently need tougher penalties and preventive measures to stop this from happening again.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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