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High reported severity Criminal Charges

Seoul: a serving police officer was arrested after police said the officer used an AI app to make about 400 fake nude composites of acquaintances and spread some on Telegram

Korean outlets reported on 4 October 2026, citing police, that a senior police officer (경장) in the traffic division of Seoul's Dongdaemun Police Station was arrested in September 2026 on charges including making and distributing fake sexual videos and possessing sexual exploitation material. According to police, from March 2022 to July 2026 the officer used an AI application to make about 400 fake videos compositing acquaintances' bodies as nude, and from August 2025 to April 2026 spread some of them in Telegram chat rooms. Busan police identified the officer after an undercover investigation of a Telegram room that began in December 2025. The acquaintances are not identified and their number is not reported.

AI system
Unidentified image and video tool
Occurred
Mar 2022 to Jul 2026
Reported
4 October 2026
Event location
South Korea
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Exploitation or Abuse
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Privacy · Relationships · Justice
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 5 sources, 1 underlying account
6 claims: 6 reported. 5 open questions
People reported harmed
Not reliably quantifiable from the sources

AI system as recorded: An AI application (not named) that police say the officer used to composite acquaintances' faces and bodies into nude fake images and videos ('허위 영상물'), as reported by Korean outlets

What Happened

The arrest. Hankyoreh and MBC, citing police, and Gyeonggi Ilbo and Money Today, relaying the Yonhap and News1 wire reports, reported on 4 October 2026 that a senior police officer (경장) of Seoul's Dongdaemun Police Station was arrested the previous month on charges including possession of sexual exploitation material and fake videos and the making and distribution of fake videos. MBC and Gyeonggi Ilbo place the officer in the station's traffic division, and MBC describes the officer as in their twenties.

The AI composites. According to police, from March 2022 to July 2026 the officer used an AI application to make about 400 fake videos that composited acquaintances as nude (Yonhap via Gyeonggi Ilbo, MBC; Hankyoreh gives 2022 to 2026). From August 2025 to April 2026 the officer allegedly spread some of them in Telegram chat rooms; Yonhap's account puts the number spread at several dozen. The officer is also accused of secretly filming women's bodies.

The investigation. Busan Metropolitan Police obtained court permission in December 2025 for an undercover investigation of a Telegram room where fake videos were being spread, and identified the officer after several months. Yonhap reports that an August 2026 search of the officer's phone and devices found about 2,600 fake videos, about 1,600 items of child and adolescent sexual exploitation material and about 1,300 illegally filmed items. The reports do not say how much of the child and adolescent material was AI-made, so it is not part of this record's AI claims. Yonhap reports that the officer confessed to most of the charges once the investigation intensified, and MBC that the officer told police the offences were committed out of curiosity.

Prior record and discipline. The officer had received a suspended indictment for a similar offence before joining the police. The outlets disagree on the appointment date (December 2023 in Hankyoreh and MBC; April 2024 in Yonhap and News1). The officer was placed on standby when Busan police notified the station and was removed from post after the arrest.

Limits. All four reports derive from police information; they are treated as one reporting chain. No acquaintance is identified, their number is not reported and no statement from them is reported. The AI application is not named.

Reported harm

Acquaintances of a Seoul police officer were depicted without consent in about 400 AI-made nude composite videos, some of which were spread in Telegram chat rooms, according to police as reported by Korean outlets.

Outcome

Pending

The officer was arrested under a detention warrant in September 2026 on charges including possession of sexual exploitation material and fake videos and the making and distribution of fake videos, was placed on standby when Busan police notified the station of the investigation, and was removed from post after the warrant was issued. Police plan disciplinary action such as dismissal based on the prosecution and court outcomes (Money Today relaying News1).

What remains unknown

  • How many acquaintances were depicted and whether any were minors.
  • Whether any depicted person knew of the material or has made a statement.
  • Which AI application was used.
  • When the officer joined the police: December 2023 (Hankyoreh, MBC) or April 2024 (Yonhap, News1).
  • Whether any of the child and adolescent exploitation material found on the devices was AI-made.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. Police, as reported by Hankyoreh, MBC, Yonhap and News1, say the officer used an AI application to composite acquaintances into nude fake videos. The acquaintances were depicted in the AI output (depicted_or_impersonated). The application is not named and no forensic detail is reported.

6 claims: 6 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported A senior police officer (경장) of Seoul's Dongdaemun Police Station was arrested in September 2026 on charges including possession of sexual exploitation material and fake videos and the making and distribution of fake videos.

Causal attribution. Arrest and charges as reported from police information; no court finding.

  • v.daum.net(opens in new tab) supports · Korean
    '서울 동대문경찰서 소속 경장 ㄱ씨는 성착취물·허위 영상물 소지 및 허위 영상물 제작·반포 등 혐의로 지난달 구속됐다'
  • v.daum.net(opens in new tab) supports · Korean
    '서울 동대문경찰서 교통과 소속 20대 경장은 성착취물과 허위 영상물을 만들어 퍼뜨린 혐의로 지난달 구속됐습니다'
Reported According to police, from March 2022 to July 2026 the officer used an AI application to make about 400 fake videos compositing acquaintances as nude.

Causal attribution. Police allegation as reported; the officer is reported to have confessed to most charges, but no court has ruled.

  • v.daum.net(opens in new tab) supports · Korean
    '2022년 3월부터 올해 7월까지 AI 애플리케이션을 이용해 지인을 나체로 합성한 허위 영상물 400여 개를 직접 제작했다'
  • v.daum.net(opens in new tab) supports · Korean
    'AI 앱으로 지인의 신체를 합성한 허위 영상물 4백여 개를 만드는 등 상습적으로 범행을 이어온 것으로 드러났습니다'
  • v.daum.net(opens in new tab) supports · Korean
    '인공지능 애플리케이션을 이용해 지인의 신체를 합성한 허위 영상물 400여개를 제작하고'
  • koreatimes.co.kr(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Using artificial intelligence, the officer even fabricated about 400 nude images of people he knew between March 2022 and July this year'
Reported The officer is also accused of spreading some of the fake videos in Telegram chat rooms between August 2025 and April 2026; Yonhap's account puts the number at several dozen.

Causal attribution. Charge as reported from police information.

  • mt.co.kr(opens in new tab) supports · Korean
    '지난해 8월부터 지난 4월까지 허위영상물 가운데 일부를 텔레그램 대화방 등을 통해 유포한 혐의도 적용됐다'
  • v.daum.net(opens in new tab) supports · Korean
    '지난해 8월부터 올해 4월까지 텔레그램 대화방에 허위 영상물 수십 개를 유포한 혐의도 받고 있다'
Reported Busan Metropolitan Police obtained court permission in December 2025 for an undercover investigation of a Telegram room where fake videos were spread, and identified the officer after several months.

Causal attribution. Investigation history as reported.

  • v.daum.net(opens in new tab) supports · Korean
    '앞서 부산경찰청은 지난해 12월 허위 영상물이 유포되는 텔레그램 대화방을 수사하기 위해 법원으로부터 신분 위장 수사 허가를 받았다'
  • mt.co.kr(opens in new tab) supports · Korean
    '수개월에 걸쳐 추적한 끝에 A 경장을 특정했다'
Reported Yonhap reports that a search of the officer's devices found about 2,600 fake videos, about 1,600 items of child and adolescent sexual exploitation material and about 1,300 illegally filmed items.

Causal attribution. Item counts from the device search as reported; they are not counts of people, and the reports do not say which of the child and adolescent material, if any, was AI-made.

  • v.daum.net(opens in new tab) supports · Korean
    '허위 영상물 2천600여개, 아동·청소년 성 착취물 1천600여개, 불법 촬영물 1천300여개 등 총 5천600여개에 달하는 불법 영상물이 발견됐다'
Reported The officer was placed on standby after the station was notified of the investigation and was removed from post after the arrest.

Causal attribution. Employment action as reported by the station.

Sources

5 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Hankyoreh article relayed on Daum, read in Korean on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Researcher translation. Cites police ('경찰에 따르면'). Applies to s1.

Gyeonggi Ilbo article relayed on Daum, read in Korean on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Researcher translation. Relays the Yonhap wire report, which cites the police investigation. Applies to s2.

Money Today (AMP page), read in Korean on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Researcher translation. Relays the News1 wire report. Applies to s3.

MBC article relayed on Daum, read in Korean on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Researcher translation. Cites police. Applies to s4.

Yonhap English report carried by The Korea Times (AMP page), read on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). Same Yonhap chain as s2; it renders the material as nude images. Applies to s5.

Event countries: South Korea. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: South Korea.

The officer served at Seoul's Dongdaemun Police Station and was identified by Busan Metropolitan Police after an undercover investigation of a Telegram room; Korean police and a detention warrant are reported. Where the acquaintances live is not stated.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-04: Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated), consistent with existing AI sexual-imagery rows: police say a serving officer used an AI app to make nude composites of acquaintances and spread some on Telegram, and the officer was arrested. One police-derived reporting chain read across four Korean outlets; neither the officer nor any depicted person is named.

People described

Acquaintances of the officer depicted in AI-made nude composites, some of which were spread in Telegram chat rooms (not identified; number not reported)

People reported harmed in this case

Not reliably quantifiable from the sources

Police refer to acquaintances ('지인') composited in about 400 fake videos but give no number of people depicted; video counts are not person counts. The women secretly filmed and any children in the exploitation material are not counted because their number is not reported and that material is not described as AI-made. Unquantified, numeric placeholders 0.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#deepfake#non-consensual-imagery#sexual-deepfake#telegram#police-officer-accused#undercover-investigation#south-korea#seoul

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Seoul: a serving police officer was arrested after police said the officer used an AI app to make about 400 fake nude composites of acquaintances and spread some on Telegram. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2022-seoul-police-officer-ai-nude-composites-of-acquaintances-telegram-arrest

BibTeX

@misc{2022_seoul_police_officer_ai_nude_composites_of_acquaintances_telegram_arrest,
  title = {Seoul: a serving police officer was arrested after police said the officer used an AI app to make about 400 fake nude composites of acquaintances and spread some on Telegram},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2022-seoul-police-officer-ai-nude-composites-of-acquaintances-telegram-arrest}
}

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