91.4% of Child and Adolescent Sexual Crimes Occur via SNS and Apps... Production of Obscene Materials Continues

Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Analyzes Verdicts of Convicted Offenders Subject to Personal Information Registration
51.3% of Sexual Crimes Committed by Family or Relatives

75.3% Unaware of Camera-Based Victimization
'Unemployed' Most Common Characteristic of Sexual Offenders at 28.2%

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] It has been revealed that most sexual crimes against children and adolescents were committed through social networking services (SNS) and applications. Cases where children and adolescents were lured to produce obscene materials accounted for nearly 74.3%.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced the results on the 18th, based on an analysis of court rulings for individuals required to register personal information who were convicted in 2018.

Among 3,219 sexual offenders targeting children and adolescents, 91.4% committed sex trafficking crimes through SNS, messengers, and apps, an increase of 5.9 percentage points compared to 2017. In sex trafficking coercion crimes, inducement and solicitation accounted for 29.7%, while assault/threats and receiving, demanding, or promising compensation each accounted for 23.1%.

◆Increase in crimes against relatives... More than half are continuous offenses= The locations of offenses showed that rape most frequently occurred at the victim’s or perpetrator’s home (44.9%), while forced molestation mainly took place outdoors and on the street (27.6%), as well as in public institutions and commercial areas (22.2%).

Rape and quasi-rape victims were over 70% harmed by acquaintances, including family and relatives, whereas forced molestation victims were 51.2% targeted by strangers or people they did not know at all. Sexual violence crimes against relatives accounted for 14.8%, up 1.2 percentage points from 2017, and the rate of continuous offenses against victims was high at 51.3%.

Sexual violence crimes against children under 13 years old numbered 701 cases (28.8%), increasing for three consecutive years, with forced molestation being the most common at 74.3%.

Crimes involving filming with cameras were mostly committed without the victim’s knowledge, accounting for 75.3%.

◆Sex offenders in their 30s are the most common= The average age of sexual offenders targeting children and adolescents was 36.6 years. The age distribution was 20s (23.0%), 30s (18.1%), teens (18.0%), and 40s (17.5%) in that order. The largest occupational group was unemployed at 28.2%, followed by office management (15.4%), simple labor (14.4%), service and sales (13.4%), and students (8.5%).

The number of victims was 3,859, with female children and adolescents accounting for 94.5% (3,646) and males 5.2% (200). Notably, the number of male child and adolescent victims increased significantly from 136 in 2017. The average age of victimized children and adolescents was 14.2 years, with those aged 16 and older making up 44.1% (1,701), ages 13 to 15 at 30.0%, and under 13 at 25.6%.

The final court sentencing types and durations were highest for rape at 5 years and 2 months, quasi-rape at 4 years and 7 months, and forced molestation at 2 years and 7 months. Sentences for obscene acts using communication media were 10 months, filming using cameras and similar devices 1 year and 2 months, and sex purchasing 1 year and 5 months.

Minister Lee Jung-ok of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family stated, "Through the revision of the Violence Punishment Act, grounds for punishment for the production and sale of false (deepfake) videos have been newly established." She added, "We will continue to improve laws and systems to eliminate blind spots in punishing new types of sexual crimes and cooperate continuously with related agencies to protect victims."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.