Lee Eon-ju hospitalized after deepfake pornography targeting her spreads online; legal team vows to pursue all responsible

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Eon-ju has been hospitalized due to stress from the spread of deepfake pornographic images of her online, as her legal team warned of further action against those continuing to circulate the material.

Law firm Oreunhaneul, which represents Lee, said Friday that despite ongoing legal proceedings against posts containing fabricated pornographic images and abusive content targeting the lawmaker, secondary harm persists online. "Some individuals continue to reshare, quote, and spread the posts in question," the firm said in a press release. "We will pursue every available civil and criminal legal remedy — to the very end — against not only those who originally posted the content but all those who participated in its production, sharing, reposting, or dissemination."

The firm had announced Thursday that it had launched legal action over sexual insults and fabricated images targeting Lee. "The suspect produced and posted online material combining explicit sexual insults and expressions evoking sexual assault with pornographic images in which the victim's likeness was superimposed," it said Thursday. "This has nothing to do with political expression or satire. It is malicious digital sexual violence intended to weaponize a female politician's sexuality and destroy her dignity, reputation, and standing in society."

Lee is currently receiving inpatient treatment. Her office announced Friday that she had been admitted on the advice of her medical team, who said she required complete rest. The law firm also said it would accept tips regarding insults or digital sexual violence directed at Lee. "If you discover anyone hiding behind anonymity and committing insults or digital sexual violence against Rep. Lee under the guise of political criticism or satire, please report it to us by email," it said. "We will respond to the very end using every legal means available."