[In-Depth Look] The End Point of Pornography Addiction

Professor Kim Do-woo, Department of Police Science, College of Law, Gyeongnam National University

Repeated consumption of pornography is becoming another cause of sex crimes. In other words, pornography addiction leads to distorted sexual perceptions and twisted gender sensitivity, producing sex offenders like the perpetrators of the 'n번방' case. An Seung-jin (25), an accomplice in the 'n번방' case, once stated that the reason he continued committing crimes was "probably due to pornography addiction," which sparked public attention. While some argue that An Seung-jin's attitude is a ploy to receive a reduced sentence, it seems premature to dismiss his claim entirely.

Kim Soo-cheol (45), who broke into a school in 2010 to kidnap and sexually assault an 8-year-old girl, and Kim Jeom-deok (45), who in 2012 kidnapped and attempted to sexually assault a 10-year-old elementary school student next door before killing her, were also found to have indulged in pornography prior to their crimes. When pornography addiction becomes severe, it can unknowingly negatively affect not only one's daily life but also others, and distorted sexual consciousness can lead to sex crimes.

American psychologist Professor Victor Klein argued that "pornography neither helps with sexual urges nor sexual satisfaction but rather reinforces them." He presented four stages of pornography addiction: initially, curiosity and entertainment lead to viewing (addiction stage); then, the search for more stimulating content intensifies (escalation stage); if viewing continues without stopping, the content in pornography is mistaken as something that can actually happen in the real world (desensitization stage). Finally, it progresses to a stage related to crimes where individuals attempt to enact behaviors seen in pornography (sexual behavior stage).

Illegal pornography that produces pornography addicts has existed even before Jo Joo-bin's 'n번방.' The closest example is Son Jung-woo's 'W2V,' before which there was Yang Jin-ho's 'webhard cartel,' and even earlier, 'Soranet,' which had over one million members.

Despite pornography addiction being a long-standing pathological social phenomenon, the complacent attitudes of investigative agencies, judicial institutions, and even legislative and administrative bodies have paved the way for the current sex offenders. To correct this, comprehensive self-purification efforts are needed, including 'monitoring the distribution status of pornography,' 'strengthening regulations,' and 'counseling and treatment.'

First, attempts are needed to monitor the 'distribution status of pornography' quarterly to promptly block illegal channels. Currently, the surveys conducted are limited to harmful environments for youth and are carried out only once every two years. Consequently, relying on past data makes it practically impossible to respond effectively to pornography uploaded in real-time.

Next, regulations on distributors of pornography must be strengthened. Son Jung-woo, who operated the child pornography site 'W2V' on the 'dark web' and was arrested last year, received a 1 year and 6 months prison sentence from a domestic court. However, an American who simply downloaded content from this site was sentenced to 70 months in prison by a U.S. court. This indicates that the punishment level in South Korea is significantly out of sync with global standards. To align with international norms, it is necessary to increase the penalties related to pornography distribution.

Measures for 'counseling and treatment' of pornography addicts must be established. As exposure to pornography via the internet increases, more people than expected are suffering from pornography addiction. Pornography addiction causes problems such as desensitization to pornography, seeking more stimulating content, and excessive sexual desire, along with mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and nervousness, as well as practical problems affecting relationships, academics, and work life. Addiction prevention centers should be established to enable pornography addicts to easily receive professional counseling and treatment.

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