Police identify creator of doctored viral video of President Yoon

Cho Ji-ho, commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, speaks during a meeting at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in central Seoul on Jan. 29. [NEWS1]

Police said Monday that they had identified a suspect who allegedly created a doctored viral video of President Yoon Suk Yeol that depicted Yoon seemingly admitting to corruption.

Cho Ji-ho, commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, told reporters at a daily briefing on Monday that the suspect is “a man in his 50s living outside of the capital area.”

The chief added that the suspect admitted to making the "fake video."

The doctored video of President Yoon went viral in February ahead of the April 10 general election.

It was later blocked by the state-run Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) following a request from the police.

In the video, Yoon says, "I, Yoon Suk Yeol, enforced and executed laws that inflicted pain on people."

Yoon continued, "The incapable and crooked Yoon administration indulged in privilege, unfair practices and corruption all the time."

Cho said that the suspect is "working for a political party" but could not reveal which party he is affiliated with.

However, the suspect was later revealed to be a member of the Rebuliding Korea Party by the party's spokesperson on Monday evening.

The party added that the suspect made the video before the party was established in March.

Police said they could not confirm such information as it is a "sensitive" period ahead of the general election.

Police booked him on defamation charges according to the law for information and communications networks and recently conducted a search and seizure against him.

Police said they further identified nine other suspects who distributed the video and investigated three of them. These nine suspects will face the same charges as the video producer.

According to police, the remaining six suspects will also be investigated.

Cho added that police have yet to find evidence confirming that the alleged producer and distributors acted collectively in committing the crime.

Previously, a post titled “An artificially crafted confession speech by President Yoon” spread on social media, including TikTok and Meta.

The video was initially suspected of being a "deepfake," a computer-manipulated image or video using AI technology showing digitally-generated figures that are not easily differentiated from real footage.

However, it was later found to be clips misleadingly spliced together from Yoon’s speech in 2022.

The social media platforms TikTok and Meta deleted doctored videos last month in response to the KCSC’s request

Cho said no fabricated videos, such as deepfake content, about the upcoming April 10 general election are currently under investigation.

He also said they had received several reports about the early voting held on Friday and Saturday but found little unusual.

Regarding Yoon being accused of violating the Public Official Election Act by holding public livelihood meetings nationwide, Cho said that the police will “conduct an investigation as intensively as possible and make a decision after the general election is over.”

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]