Seoul City 'Digital Sexual Crime Safety Support Center' 100 Days Since Opening... 5 Perpetrators Arrested

49 Victims Request Help from Center... 1,160 Deletions, 364 Investigations and Legal Cases, Total 2,637 Supports Provided

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 19th that the ‘Seoul Digital Sexual Crime Safety Support Center,’ which opened in March to provide integrated support for victims of digital sexual crimes, has marked its 100th day since opening.

Over the past 100 days, 149 victims of digital sexual crimes have sought help from the center. Through various methods such as deletion requests, the center supported the removal of 1,160 illegal recordings. Including video deletion, the center provided 2,637 cases of support to victims in areas such as investigation, legal assistance, psychological counseling, and healing. The 2,637 support cases consisted of 364 investigation and legal support cases, 273 psychological and healing support cases, 1,160 deletion support cases, and 479 cases of victim support planning and monitoring.

In particular, the center closely cooperated with the police to lead to the arrest of five perpetrators. The city stated that by providing close support throughout the entire process?including evidence collection, complaint preparation, police station testimony support, and legal and litigation assistance?for cases reported by victims, the center contributed to the apprehension of the offenders.

The five arrests involved the following cases: one case of illegally filming and attempting to distribute a video of sexual intercourse with a girlfriend; one case of approaching a teenager during a game, obtaining photos, and threatening to distribute them; one case of stalking by threatening to distribute photos three years after meeting a university student; and two cases of distributing illegally filmed photos taken during part-time work at a shopping mall.

Regarding the age groups of the 149 digital sexual crime victims supported through the center, those in their 20s accounted for the largest proportion with 50 people (33.6%). This was followed by 28 people in their 30s (18.8%) and 22 children and adolescents (14.8%). The perpetrators were categorized as partners (189 cases, 26.1%), chat partners (189 cases, 26.1%), acquaintances (104 cases, 14.4%), and spouses (19 cases, 2.6%), with about 70% of crimes occurring within close relationships.

The types of victimization were as follows: 545 cases of fear of distribution, 348 cases of illegal filming, 313 cases of distribution and redistribution, 139 cases of sexual harassment, and 122 cases of stalking. Notably, in addition to illegal filming and distribution, recent victimization patterns prominently include stalking or sexual harassment using illegal recordings or composite photos.

Meanwhile, at the ‘Seoul Digital Sexual Crime Safety Support Center,’ victims can receive comprehensive support from emergency counseling to complaint preparation, police station testimony support, legal and litigation assistance, and psychological treatment without having to wander from place to place. In particular, the center provides one-stop support for video deletion, which victims most urgently need.

Additionally, Seoul City is collaborating with the Seoul Institute of Technology to develop the nation’s first ‘AI deletion support technology’ for local governments nationwide, which will be introduced in the first half of next year. While counselors currently search for illegal recordings manually, AI will soon be able to quickly detect videos 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Kim Seon-soon, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Women and Family Policy Office, said, “The fact that the Seoul Digital Sexual Crime Safety Support Center has achieved over 2,600 support cases in just 100 days since its opening is proof that such integrated support was needed. As new types of crimes continue to expand, Seoul City will do its best to help citizens suffering from digital sexual crimes quickly recover their daily lives through victim-tailored support.”

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