Police Arrest 449 for Cyber Sexual Violence Including Sexual Exploitation and Illegal Filming in the First Half of the Year

Majority of Suspects and Victims in Their Teens and Twenties
Key Suspects' Personal Information Disclosed 8 Times
'Undercover Investigation' Introduced in September

National Investigation Headquarters. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters (NIH) announced on the 15th that through the "Cyber Sexual Violence Illegal Distribution Network and Distributor Crackdown" launched in March this year, they arrested 449 people over three months, of whom 36 were detained. Additionally, they recovered criminal proceeds worth approximately 380 million KRW.

By type of victimized video, sexual exploitation materials accounted for the largest number with 278 people (61.9%). This was followed by illegal filming materials with 69 people (15.4%), illegal composites with 54 people (12.0%), and illegal sexual videos with 48 people (10.7%).

Regarding the type of acts, usage such as purchase, possession, and viewing accounted for 196 people (43.7%), distribution and sales for 139 people (31%), filming and production for 67 people (14.9%), and site operation for 47 people (10.5%).

Also, by age group of suspects, those in their 20s numbered 175 (39%), and those under their teens numbered 151 (33.6%), meaning more than 7 out of 10 suspects were in their teens or twenties. Victim ages showed that those under their teens were 190 (50.2%), nearly half, and those in their 20s were 147 (38.9%). This indicates that younger generations familiar with the internet environment are exposed to digital sex crimes.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The police arrested two suspects (Kim Young-jun, Choi Chan-wook) who produced sexual exploitation videos targeting males during the crackdown period and held a committee to disclose their identities, deciding to make their identities public. Including those involved in last year's "Nth Room" and "Doctor's Room" cases, the police have publicly disclosed identities related to major cyber sexual violence offenders eight times to date.

The police recently received victim video materials from related agencies, registered them in the "Illegal Filming Tracking System," detected and analyzed distribution routes, and launched investigations. They plan to continue crackdowns in the second half of the year. In particular, with the "Undercover Investigation" system set to be implemented from September 24, preparations such as selecting and training dedicated investigators are underway to enable immediate use in investigations.

A police official stated, "Continuous education and guidance for children and students at home and school are necessary to prevent youth from falling into digital sex crimes," adding, "Digital sex crimes must be eradicated, so we ask for the public's attention and active reporting through systems such as the Cyber Crime Reporting System (eCRM)."

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