A South Korean police officer accused of creating around 400 sexually explicit deepfake videos received three official commendations during the period of alleged offending.
The 28-year-old officer, identified by his surname Gong, also had a previous illegal filming case that was not flagged during police recruitment. The revelations have raised questions about police vetting and internal supervision.
Gong, a sergeant assigned to Seoul's Dongdaemun Police Station, has been detained and indicted on charges involving sexually exploitative material.
Prosecutors allege he used artificial intelligence (AI) to create sexual deepfake videos featuring people he knew and distributed some through Telegram.
According to The Chosun Daily, National Police Agency records submitted to People Power Party lawmaker Seo Myeong-ok showed that Gong received three commendations between August 2024 and October 2025.
All three fell within the period of alleged offending.
Officer Praised as Role Model While Allegedly Creating Deepfakes
Gong received his first commendation in August 2024 for contributing to an emergency preparedness exercise at Dongdaemun Police Station. He was still serving his probationary period.
A second commendation followed in December 2024 from the Autonomous Police Committee. In October 2025, he received another award recognising his contribution to police administration during the force's 80th anniversary.
Official records described him as a diligent officer who had earned the trust of colleagues and superiors. He was also praised as a 'role model for others', according to The Chosun Daily.
Prosecutors allege Gong began producing fabricated sexual material in March 2022, before joining the police. The alleged activity continued during his service and overlapped with all three awards.
However, the available reports do not establish that his supervisors knew about the suspected offences when the commendations were granted.
Previous Filming Case Was Not Flagged During Recruitment
Gong's recruitment has also come under scrutiny following reports that he had previously been investigated over allegations of illegal filming.
In September 2020, he was accused of secretly filming a woman's legs and buttocks at a bus stop using his mobile phone. Prosecutors suspended his indictment in 2021, meaning the case did not proceed to trial.
The decision was not a criminal conviction. According to SBS News, police did not identify the earlier case when Gong joined the force in late December 2023. Records of suspended indictments were outside the scope of background checks available during recruitment.
As a result, the screening process did not flag his previous case. Seo has called for an examination of possible weaknesses in police personnel verification and internal management.
The case has also raised questions about whether recruitment checks provide sufficient safeguards when applicants have previously faced sexual misconduct allegations.
Telegram Investigation Uncovered Thousands of Suspected Illegal Files
Gong came under investigation following an undercover operation launched by the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency in December 2025. Investigators were examining the suspected distribution of sexually exploitative material through Telegram.
Police reportedly identified Gong in July 2026 and seized his mobile phone in August. According to Yonhap News Agency, forensic analysis uncovered approximately 2,600 deepfake images, 1,600 images involving child sexual exploitation and 1,300 illegally filmed images.
In a separate report published on 7 October, Yonhap said prosecutors charged Gong with possessing approximately 5,600 illegally filmed videos, including around 1,600 involving child sexual abuse material. The reports describe the seized material differently, so the figures should not be treated as separate totals.
Prosecutors also allege Gong produced approximately 400 fabricated sexual videos between March 2022 and August 2026 and distributed around 50. He is further accused of producing about 10 illegally filmed videos using his phone.
Following his arrest, Dongdaemun Police Station confirmed that he had been relieved of duty.
Case Raises Questions About Police Accountability
The allegations come as South Korea intensifies efforts to investigate digital sexual exploitation, including offences involving AI-generated intimate material.
According to Yonhap, police conducted 598 undercover investigations into digital sex crimes between January and August 2026, compared with 179 during the same period in 2025. The figures cover several categories of digital sexual exploitation, not solely deepfake offences.
South Korea also expanded undercover investigative powers to include cases involving adult victims in June 2025. The change formed part of broader efforts to tackle online sexual exploitation.
Gong's case has drawn attention to two areas of police accountability: whether recruitment checks should account for previous prosecutorial decisions involving sexual misconduct allegations, and whether internal oversight can identify suspected offences by serving officers.
His criminal liability remains for the courts to determine.
