Seoul Mayor Oh Se Hoon Transforms into a Fit Actor, Drawing Attention with Deepfake Technology

Seoul Mayor Oh Se Hoon has recently become the subject of widespread attention, thanks to a striking transformation into a fit actor—made possible through deepfake technology.

Sporting a jacket and gold necklace, Oh’s image was altered using AI to create a version of him as a muscular actor in his 30s, which quickly caught the eye of both the public and city officials.

On Tuesday, during the 327th regular session of the Seoul City Council, Council Member Yoon Young Hee (People Power Party) unveiled a deepfake video she created featuring Mayor Oh’s face.

This demonstration was part of a larger conversation about the rise of deepfake crimes targeting public officials. Yoon, concerned about the growing misuse of such technology, called for urgent measures to prevent its abuse. She created the video to highlight the ease and potential dangers of deepfake technology, showing how easily it can be done.

Deepfake refers to using artificial intelligence (AI) to digitally alter videos or images digitally, often to merge a person’s face, body, or other features into existing media. While deepfakes are frequently used for harmless entertainment, the rise of harmful applications, such as fake videos and explicit content, has led to increasing concerns.

In recent months, there has been a surge in deepfake-related crimes, particularly involving ordinary citizens. Explicit deepfake videos, including those made using photos of unsuspecting individuals, have been widely shared on platforms like Telegram, a popular anonymous messaging app. This has sparked alarm over the rapid spread of deepfake-related harm.

Yoon demonstrated how easy it is to create a deepfake using a mobile app to combine a foreign actor’s body with Oh’s face. As the video played for the council members, the unusual sight of the mayor as a muscular actor caused an immediate burst of laughter.

Oh, who took the stage shortly after, laughed and commented, “It’s strangely accurate.”

“I made this video in less than a minute, and it was completely free, incredibly easy, and quick,” Yoon remarked, emphasizing how simple it was to create the video.

Yoon continued, “Deepfakes, which anyone can create so easily, pose a significant risk to personal privacy, honor, and even social stability. We need to take action now to address these concerns.” She urged local governments to implement measures to combat deepfake-related crimes and protect citizens from its potential harms.

In response, Oh highlighted the city’s proactive approach to combating digital sexual crimes: “Seoul City was the first to introduce an AI program at the Digital Sexual Crime Center, and the results have exceeded our expectations.” He explained, “In the past, people had to manually deal with these issues, like playing whack-a-mole with problems constantly popping up. But now, AI handles it on a large scale, allowing us to address the issue more efficiently.”

Oh also emphasized the severity of the issue, stating, “Since the social and psychological harm to victims is immense, we are committed to ensuring personal rights are thoroughly protected moving forward.”

Meanwhile, the National Police Agency reported on Sunday that 30 local council members from cities across South Korea—including Seoul, Incheon, Busan, Gwangju, and Daegu—have become victims of deepfake blackmail. These council members received threatening emails in which the perpetrators merged explicit content with photos of the officials and demanded cryptocurrency in exchange for the removal of the images.

In response to the growing number of incidents, cybercrime units from various city and provincial governments have launched investigations to track down those responsible for the deepfake blackmail scheme.