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Recently, there has been a growing call for stronger legal regulations as fake SNS accounts impersonating celebrities, sports stars, and even businessmen are indiscriminately created, leading to a string of societal damages.

In particular, caution is needed as fake accounts impersonating celebrities may request personal information or money, leading to actual damage.

Recently, it was reported that the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency received reports on multiple SNS accounts impersonating Sung Kim, an advisor to Hyundai Motor Group, and launched an investigation.

More than 14 Facebook accounts impersonating advisor Kim, using his personal photos and profile, have been identified. Some did not hesitate to falsely state facts, such as writing ‘Official Account’ in their self-introduction.

It has been reported that the same report has been filed with investigative agencies in the United States, where Facebook’s headquarters is located. This is due to concerns about significant damage if the activities of the impersonating account are left unchecked.

In fact, one account that impersonated advisor Kim reportedly attempted to extract personal information by sending a message to a Hyundai Motor Company official but failed. Advisor Kim is slated to take office as the president in charge of strategic planning for the Hyundai Motor Group.

According to an online impersonation post detection company, about 79 percent of celebrity impersonation posts are mainly concentrated on social networks and the like. 

The SNS account that effectively impersonated Lee Jae-yong, the executive chairman of Samsung Electronics, is a typical example. According to local news reports, although it was labeled as a ‘fan page’ most of the posts contained content that could make one mistake it for being directly posted by the person himself, such as “My visit to the Busan fish cake shop has had a huge butterfly effect, for which I am grateful to many.” 

Netizens also mistook this for the chairman’s account, leaving comments or sending messages, and at one point, the impersonating account had about 450,000 followers. However, as the controversy spread and attention was focused, it suddenly disappeared.

In addition, there have been incidents where impersonation accounts on social media caused great social controversy by pretending to be former Hanwha Investment Securities CEO Joo Jin-hyeong or former Meritz Asset Management CEO John Lee to induce illegal investments or impersonating famous broadcasters like Yoo Jae-suk to recommend purchasing diet pills . A fake account pretending to be football player Hwang Hee-chan sent private messages to female fans and even received a public warning from the player himself .

Phishing crimes using impersonation accounts are also a serious threat.

According to the National Police Agency, from September last year to February this year, as a result of a special crackdown on illegal stock investment inducement, including celebrity impersonation scams, the number of damage cases amounted to 2,517, and the damage amount reached KRW 237.1 billion.

In July last year, a social media account impersonating Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, approached a Korean woman and defrauded her of KRW 70 million . A woman in her 50s who transferred a total of KRW 190 million three times to an account impersonating musical actor Michael Lee filed a complaint with the police, claiming she was scammed . The damage from romance scams is unending.

Legal professionals warn that those who create impersonating accounts and misuse them could face severe punishment.

Under Article 70 of the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network, if one uses the information and communications network to publicly reveal facts to defame others, they can be punished with up to three years in prison or a fine of up to KRW 30 million.

If a person defames another by spreading falsehoods through a fake account, the punishment can be even more severe, with up to seven years in prison, a suspension of qualifications for up to 10 years, or a fine of up to KRW 50 million.

Moreover, as the impact of SNS has grown, there are increasing calls to punish the act of creating ‘fake accounts’ itself.

The amendment to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network, which stipulates that if you create a fake account impersonating someone else online, you will be sentenced to imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to KRW 10 million, was proposed to the National Assembly last June and is currently under discussion in the relevant standing committee.

Major foreign countries such as the United States and Canada already have legal provisions in place that allow for punishment even when someone impersonates someone else online for purposes such as deception or personal gain.

Some argue that there is a need to obligate service providers and SNS operators to immediately suspend or delete any impersonating accounts as soon as they discover or receive reports of such accounts.

Legal experts state, “Impersonation online is not only a serious infringement on the victim's personal rights, but it can also lead to associated crimes such as phishing, causing significant social damage.” They emphasized that "it is essential to promptly amend the relevant laws to prohibit the creation of impersonating accounts online and to strengthen the penalties for crimes using such accounts."