Public anger has intensified following the emergence of a TikTok video that uses artificial intelligence to mock South Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-geun.
Mr. Ahn was one of South Korea’s most honorable independence fighters, most famously known for assassinating Hirobumi Ito, the first governor-general of the Korean peninsula, in Harbin, China in October 1909.
The clip shows footage of Mr. Ahn superimposed on objects such as a train and balloons, and includes sound effects such as fart sounds, clearly intended to mock him.
Similar content previously targeted activist Yoo Kwang-sung, raising widespread concerns about the misuse of generative artificial intelligence on social media.
Seo Kyung-deok, a professor at Sungshin Women’s University, expressed strong concerns in a Facebook post on Friday, saying she learned about the video from an online user on the anniversary of Ahn Jung-geun’s death.
“I found five AI-generated fart videos of Ahn Jung-geun uploaded, with a total of around 130,000 views,” he wrote.
He also noted that similarly manipulated videos targeted other independent officials, including Yoon Bong-gil and Kim Gu. He also noticed an increase in the frequency of such AI mockery around March 1st Independence Day.
Seo added that the big issue is the legal gray area.
“Legal experts say libel and insult laws do not apply to deceased persons, making it difficult to impose meaningful penalties on such content.”
He urged both users and platforms to take stronger action.
“The most important step right now is for users to proactively report such content and prevent it from being published,” Seo said. “TikTok also needs to strengthen its monitoring to prevent incidents like this from happening again.”
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