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Educational office reviews school response to alleged explicit deepfakes of classmate

Published: 05 Nov. 2025, 16:13

A poster on prevention of deepfake sexual exploitation crimes [NEWS1]

An education office launched an investigation into a case in Iksan, North Jeolla, where a student at an all-girls high school allegedly used her classmate's photo to create sexually explicit social media posts.

According to Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday, the student is accused of creating a social media account between September and October, using a profile photo of her classmate and repeatedly uploading posts containing graphic images and videos.

Although the faces in the videos were blurred or edited out, the subject's identity was discernible by the school uniforms in the clips. The victim only appeared to become aware of the situation after hearing from friends that her account might have been hacked and that inappropriate videos had been uploaded.

The victim reportedly suffered severe emotional distress and has since been receiving psychological counseling and treatment.

While the victim’s parents immediately reported the incident to the school, they claim that the school failed to take adequate follow-up measures, such as separating the victim and the alleged perpetrator, with both students reportedly attending classes in the same building on the same floor. The school also allegedly did not clearly communicate during the school violence deliberation process or relay results to the victim’s side, nor did it provide sufficient support to prevent further harm.

“We are still in the same space as the perpetrator, and we have received no updates on the investigation or any follow-up measures since filing the report,” the victim’s representative said. “Apart from being notified that a school violence deliberation committee meeting will be held at the Iksan Office of Education on Nov. 17, we have received no further explanation.”

A school official countered that “all necessary steps according to procedure” were taken, adding that the school did follow regulations by reporting to the education office, providing counseling and separating the students as required. Responding to claims of poor communication, the official said, “To my knowledge, the homeroom teacher handled all notifications in line with guidelines.”

“We have dispatched a superintendent to verify whether the school’s response was appropriate,” an official at the Iksan Office of Education said. “We will thoroughly follow through with necessary measures, including convening a school violence deliberation committee, to ensure the victim does not suffer further harm.”

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.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]