Online Grooming Punishable by Up to 3 Years Imprisonment... Effective from September

Enactment of the Amendment to the Act on the Protection of Children and Adolescents from Sexual Abuse
Punishment Possible for Conversations or Acts Inducing Sexual Desire or Shame
Special Provisions Allow Undercover and Covert Investigations by Police

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Starting in September, a law punishing 'online grooming'?the act of luring children or adolescents for sexual exploitation?will be enforced.

On the 23rd, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced that a partial amendment to the "Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse," which includes grounds for punishing online grooming targeting children and adolescents, has been promulgated. This law will be enforced from September 24 after preparations such as the enforcement decree and subordinate regulations are revised.

Until now, although children and adolescents were exposed to online grooming through chat apps or SNS, there was no separate legal basis for punishment before crimes such as rape or production of sexual exploitation materials occurred. According to the Ministry's 2019 prostitution survey, 11.1% of respondents experienced unwanted sexual solicitation via the internet over three years.

The amendment includes legal grounds to punish grooming acts that continue conversations causing sexual desire, shame, or disgust, or that lure or encourage sexual acts. Those who solicit or lure children or adolescents for prostitution purposes may face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family stated, "It will now be possible to punish adults for approaching children and adolescents with sexual conversations or inducements to sexual acts, which will help prevent serious sexual crimes and related harm. Along with raising the age of statutory rape for minors, this strengthens the foundation for protecting children and adolescents from sexual abuse."

The amendment also includes provisions allowing the police to conduct undercover investigations or conceal their identity to detect digital sexual crimes against children and adolescents. Police can approach suspects without revealing their identity to collect evidence and materials, and with court approval, may disguise their identity to achieve investigative purposes when there is suspicion of a crime. The creation, alteration, and use of documents, images, and electronic records for undercover investigations are also permitted.

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