ISTANBUL

A South Korean law enforcement agency has initiated a pre-indictment inquiry into Telegram Corporation, accusing the messaging service of facilitating "deepfake sexual crimes," officials announced on Monday.

Woo Jong-soo, head of the National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters, stated during a press briefing that the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has commenced the investigation, Yonhap News reported.

The police chief disclosed that instances of such offenses have skyrocketed, with 297 cases logged from January to July 2024. He noted the reported cases surged nearly 10 times last week from an average of 9.5 cases weekly to 88 in the Aug. 26-29 period.

Woo acknowledged the difficulties, pointing out that Telegram does not furnish investigative materials such as account data to South Korea or other nations' law enforcement agencies.

Nonetheless, he indicated that the police will work in conjunction with French authorities and international organizations to explore avenues for investigating Telegram.

The French government recently detained Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov in Paris, preliminarily charging him with facilitating various offenses, including "online sex crimes and drug trafficking."

Telegram has yet to respond to the allegations as of 0900 GMT.