Digital Sex Crime 'Undercover Investigation' Fully Introduced on the 24th... Police Investigators Begin Activities

Nationwide Cyber and Women and Youth Investigators
40 Selected and Completed Specialized Training
Plan for Continuous Personnel Increase

National Police Agency, National Investigation Headquarters.
Photo by National Police Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The amended Act on the Protection of Children and Youth from Sexual Abuse (Youth Sexual Protection Act), which punishes 'online grooming'?the act of luring children and adolescents for sexual exploitation?and introduces undercover investigations in digital sex crime investigations, will be fully enforced on the 24th.

The National Police Agency announced on the 23rd that, along with the enforcement of the amended law, selected undercover investigators and cyber and women & youth investigators nationwide will begin full-scale undercover operations.

The amended Youth Sexual Protection Act was promulgated on March 23 this year as a legislative measure to protect children and adolescents, included in the joint digital sex crime eradication measures prepared by related ministries in response to the so-called 'Telegram n번방' (Telegram nth Room) case.

With the enforcement of the amended law, it will be possible to punish grooming acts that involve continuously or repeatedly engaging in conversations that induce sexual desire, shame, or disgust, or lure or encourage sexual acts online for the purpose of sexually exploiting children and adolescents. Offenders may face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

In addition, a special provision for undercover investigations has been established to allow the police to conduct investigations by concealing or disguising their identity to effectively detect and prevent digital sex crimes against children and adolescents in advance. Undercover investigations include 'identity-concealed investigations,' where the investigator approaches the criminal without revealing their identity to collect evidence and materials related to the crime, and 'identity-disguised investigations,' which, with court approval when there is sufficient suspicion of a crime, allow investigators to disguise their identity to achieve investigative objectives. Notably, with court approval, documents, drawings, and electronic records for identity disguise can be created, altered, or used, and contracts, transactions, as well as possession, sale, and advertisement of sexual exploitation materials can be conducted using the disguised identity.

The National Police Agency, after the promulgation of the amended law, coordinated with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Ministry of Justice to establish necessary provisions for undercover investigations in the enforcement decree. The enforcement decree stipulates ▲ detailed methods and approval procedures for identity-concealed investigations ▲ control measures such as reporting requirements to the National Police Commission and the National Assembly during identity-concealed investigations. During undercover investigations, police officers must ensure that they do not induce criminal intent in individuals who originally have no criminal intent and prevent additional harm to child and adolescent victims.

In line with the full-scale implementation of undercover investigations, the police have incorporated related procedures and forms into the National Police Agency’s directives and produced a guideline containing approval and authorization procedures for undercover investigations, as well as domestic and international investigation cases, referencing overseas examples. Additionally, 40 undercover investigators were selected mainly from investigators working at metropolitan and provincial police agencies and underwent a week-long specialized training. The National Police Agency plans to actively conduct undercover investigations centered on the selected undercover investigators and cyber and women & youth investigators nationwide, while operating a 'Digital Sex Crime Undercover Investigation Inspection Team' to review issues and improvements related to the implementation of undercover investigations and plans to increase undercover investigator personnel in the future.

Kim Chang-ryong, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, stated, "The foundation for proactive and preventive police activities has been established through undercover investigations, supported by the introduction of civil and criminal immunity provisions," and added, "We will strive to eradicate digital sex crimes through undercover investigations."

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