An overwhelming majority of the suspects in sex crimes using deepfake technologies are teenagers, police data showed Tuesday.

According to the National Police Agency, 80.8 percent of the 573 suspects caught this year were in their teens, as of Nov. 30. Of those, 94 were under the age of 14, who are immune from criminal punishment under the Article 9 of the Criminal Act.

Eighty-seven suspects were in their 20s, 17 in their 30s, three in their 40s and three in their 50s.

South Korean police on Aug. 28 kicked off a special crackdown against sex crimes involving deepfakes. The average number of daily reports of deepfake crimes was 12.66 as of Sept. 25, almost a month after the crackdown started, but gradually dropped to 6.98 as of Nov. 30.

A total of 649 cases have been reported in the three months of the police clamping down on such crimes, compared to 445 before it begin. The crackdown will continue until March 31.

Three police officers received special promotions in relation to their contribution in the ongoing cases. The NPA said it decided to commend the officers to motivate their fellow officers.

South Korea has been ailing from the rising number of sexually exploitive videos using deepfake technology.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the state-run Korea Communications Standards Commissioned reviewed 1,913 of potential sexual deepfake crimes in 2021. The figure soared each year since then, to 3,574 in 2022, 7,187 in 2023, and to 10,305 as of September of this year.

The National Assembly last month passed a law revision that would allow undercover investigations against the perpetrators of deepfake crimes. The maximum punishment against distribution and editing of deepfake pornographic videos was also raised from five years in jail to seven years, and those accused of simple possession or viewing of such videos can be legally punished under the recent revision.