Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Requests Prompt Establishment of Sentencing Guidelines for Digital Sex Crimes

Minister Lee Jung-ok of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Meets with Kim Young-ran, Chair of the Supreme Court Sentencing Commission, on the 13th
Second Meeting Since Requesting Sentencing Guidelines for Child and Adolescent Pornography Crimes

Minister of Gender Equality and Family Lee Jung-ok is delivering a speech at the Digital Sex Crime Countermeasures Meeting, including the Telegram Nth Room case, held on the 24th at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family's main conference room in the Government Seoul Office Building. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] On the 13th, Lee Jung-ok, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, met with Kim Young-ran, Chairperson of the Sentencing Commission, at the Supreme Court to request cooperation in establishing sentencing guidelines for sex crimes that reflect the unique characteristics of digital sex crime victims.

This meeting was the second since the request last December to establish sentencing guidelines for crimes involving child and adolescent pornography, prompted by the growing need for sentencing guidelines related to crimes such as the "Telegram Nth Room digital sex crime case."

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family conveyed opinions on the establishment of sentencing guidelines proposed by the Committee for the Prevention of Violence Against Women, formed under the Basic Act on the Prevention of Violence Against Women. Specifically, they suggested the need to consider the victim's age during sentencing, recognize differences between first-time and repeat offenders in digital sex crimes, understand that efforts for victim recovery and the degree of harm should be assessed differently from general crimes, and emphasized the necessity of strict sentencing for distribution crimes as well.

The Sentencing Commission is currently reviewing sentencing guidelines for three types of digital sex crimes: filming using cameras, etc. (Article 14 of the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence), obscenity using communication media (Article 13 of the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence), and child and adolescent pornography (Article 11 of the Act on the Protection of Youth from Sexual Offenses). The Commission plans to hold a plenary meeting on the 20th (Monday) to continue detailed discussions on establishing sentencing guidelines for digital sex crimes after internal reviews by expert members.

Minister Lee stated, "The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has requested the prompt establishment of sentencing guidelines that align with public legal sentiment," adding, "Once the sentencing guidelines are created, not only will the prevention of these crimes be enhanced, but punishments will be strengthened, and we expect that societal awareness regarding digital sex crimes will be significantly heightened."

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