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On April 11, 2025, Billboard reported that HYBE and South Korean authorities arrested eight individuals who created deepfake content involving BTS and LE SSERAFIM. The arrests resulted from a joint investigation by HYBE and the Northern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency (NGPPA).
The suspects are accused of creating and distributing AI-generated videos and images that altered the likenesses of HYBE artists. In a statement to Billboard, Lee Jae-sang, CEO of HYBE, said,
“HYBE will respond firmly to crimes that infringe on our artists’ portrait rights and reputations, based on a zero-tolerance and no-settlement policy. We will continue to monitor and take legal action to eradicate such serious crimes.”
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HYBE, the company behind K-pop groups like BTS, SEVENTEEN, and LE SSERAFIM, is taking action to address the increasing spread of deepfake content. In February 2025, HYBE signed a memorandum of understanding with the NGPPA to streamline investigations and establish a hotline for reporting these crimes. This collaboration aims to safeguard the artists from online exploitation while also speeding up legal proceedings against offenders.
K-pop industry faces deepfake crisis: Over 200 artists from HYBE, JYP, YG, and more targeted in 2024
In 2024, the K-pop industry was shaken by a deepfake scandal in which over 200 artists, mostly female idols, fell victim to AI-generated s*xually explicit images. This development raised serious questions about digital privacy rights, the victimization of public figures, and the increase in cybercrime.
The recent report of eight perpetrators being arrested by police marks a positive turnaround in the deepfake epidemic occurring in South Korea since 2024. Ho-seung Kim, the district chief of NGPPA, told Billboard,
“Deepfake crimes that exploit the vulnerabilities of celebrities—who often find it difficult to report such offenses themselves — are on the rise. Deepfake is a serious type of crime that can destroy the daily lives of victims, and crimes targeting public figures are no exception.”
Deepfake technology, in which artificial intelligence is used to superimpose people's faces onto non-consensual explicit photos or videos, has become increasingly prevalent in South Korea.
A 2023 report by the cybersecurity firm Security Hero stated that South Korea is the most affected nation by deepfake p*rnography, with 53% of the sampled videos featuring K-pop singers and actresses.
The Straits Times reported that the study counted 95,820 deepfake p*rnographic videos of K-pop artists and regular women across ten websites. It also identified 85 deepfake channels on video platforms including YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion.
The deepfake crisis has impacted every major K-pop agency. Artists from prominent groups like TWICE, NewJeans, BLACKPINK, and IVE have all been targets.
In a particularly distressing event, deepfake photos of IVE members Jang Wonyoung and An Yujin were accidentally uploaded to the group's official Weibo account. This led to public outcry and an apology from their label, Starship Entertainment.
Following the incident, several K-pop companies announced their intent to take action against deepfake producers. JYP Entertainment, which manages the groups TWICE and ITZY, stated that it is compiling all available evidence and will pursue the strongest legal action possible without leniency against the offenders.
Similarly, YG Entertainment, home to groups like BLACKPINK and BabyMonster, expressed concern over this incident. YG Entertainment is currently monitoring the web for illegal activities, aiming to remove and block illegal videos while employing all legal measures available.
In September 2024, President Yoon Suk-yeol called for a more extensive investigation into deepfake p*rnography. The police reported that the victimization rate among minors was approximately 60%.
Law enforcement agencies have intensified their efforts to tackle digital s*x crimes. The National Police Agency announced that, starting in September 2021, it had conducted 515 undercover investigations into illegal deepfake p*rnography and arrested 1,415 individuals.
