Civil Servant Fined in First Trial for Using Composite Image of Female Subordinate as KakaoTalk Profile Picture

[Financial News] A civil servant was fined after creating an AI-generated composite image that made it appear he was in a romantic relationship with a female subordinate and setting it as his messenger profile picture.
On the 11th, Judge Nam Min-young of the Seoul Southern District Court’s Criminal Division 13 handed down fines of 5 million won for violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, including the editing and distribution of fabricated images, and 1 million won for defamation to Mr. Lee, a male civil servant affiliated with Guro District Office. The court also ordered him to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program. 
Mr. Lee was indicted on charges of using AI to create and post on his KakaoTalk profile a composite image that made it appear Ms. A, a female employee subordinate to him in the same department, was wearing tight-fitting clothing and either embracing him from behind or placing her hand on his shoulder in November last year.
Investigators found that Mr. Lee, who had romantic feelings for Ms. A, obtained a photograph of her face through the civil service computer system. 
The court found all the charges against Mr. Lee proven. It stated, "Given the content and method of the offense and the harm suffered by the victim, the offense is serious," adding, "The defendant has not received forgiveness from the victim, who is seeking severe punishment."
The court also said, "During the police assessment of the victim's criminal harm, she stated that 'feelings of shame, humiliation and disgust swept over her all at once,' and explained that she suffered difficulties after rumors about the incident spread in the workplace."
Mr. Lee's side admitted during the trial that he had created and posted the image and was guilty of defamation. However, it denied the charge of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, arguing that the composite image could not be considered an image likely to arouse sexual desire or shame and that he had no such intention.
The court, however, ruled, "Images likely to arouse sexual desire or shame are not necessarily limited to exposed bodies, such as nudity or underwear," adding, "Cases in which tight clothing reveals the body's contours, as in the fabricated image in this case, may also fall within that category." The court concluded that the charge of violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes was also established after considering the circumstances in which the fabricated image was created, the relationship between the two people, the pose in the composite image and the victim's actual feelings of sexual shame.
Regarding Mr. Lee's claim that, because of his facial recognition disorder, he thought other people would not recognize the victim in the composite image, the court called it "an excuse that is difficult to accept" and said, "There is also some doubt as to whether he is genuinely remorseful for the offense."
However, the court considered the following mitigating factors: △that Mr. Lee suffers from a mental illness, △that he admitted the basic facts of the offense, and △that he had no prior convictions.
Previously, prosecutors sought a 10-month prison sentence for Mr. Lee at the final hearing in July, saying, "He publicly posted the image despite recognizing that it could cause problems."

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