There have been concerns about the concept of a girl group that recently debuted under the agency SM Entertainment. This group consists of members who are active in the real world and have their respective avatars. However, there are concerns that these avatars can be exploited by deepfake technology. No laws restrict this, let alone punish it. Let's consider what deepfake technology is, the focus of the controversy. Deepfake is a compound word derived from “deep learning,” which is a form of machine learning, and “fake,” which means “not real,” and refers to a video compilation that synthesizes the face or specific part of an existing person using artificial intelligence technology. This is mainly done by replacing a person's face or specific part in a video with another person's face or corresponding part. During the synthesis process, deepfake uses the deep learning function of artificial intelligence.

Deepfake technology is used to replace major characters in dangerous situations in movies and is highly praised for its use. It is attracting attention as a genre of visual art. However, due to such high utilization, it is being abused in various fields. The biggest problem concerns illegal pornography using deepfake technology—there is an increasing number of harmful instances of celebrities being depicted in illegal pornographic videos. The BBC reported that the number of deepfake videos doubled in 2019 compared to 2018, with 96 percent of them being consumed as illegal pornography. Furthermore, 46 percent of the victims are American and British actors, and 25 percent are Korean female entertainers. In addition, as the general public has also recently become the target, there is a growing concern that laws regulating the use of deepfake technology are necessary.

Another problem with deepfake technology concerns fake news. Deepfake technology is not only used to synthesize a face or a specific body part, but also to mimic voices, which can be done to create an almost perfect fake video. Accordingly, it is possible to create fake news that may cause political confusion and problems in the international community; videos can be manipulated to depict a country's leader saying something untrue.

Concerns about deepfake technology have resulted in several new possible laws being discussed and existing laws being modified. On March 24, 2020, the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes was revised to cover illegal pornographic videos created using deepfake technology. Punishments are now being imposed for sex crimes committed using deepfake technology. However, when it comes to fake news, there are concerns about the possibility of excessive censorship of content in the process of censoring fake news. What is the best way to prevent the abuse of deepfake technology? It is an issue that requires sympathy and interest from the general public.