Police Launch Major Crackdown on Cyber Sexual Violence Crimes... 1,694 Arrested Over 8 Months

Half of the Crimes Committed by Teenagers

National Police Agency, National Investigation Headquarters

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters (NIH) announced on the 15th that it conducted an intensive crackdown on 'cyber sexual violence crimes' over eight months since March, arresting 1,694 individuals, of whom 99 were detained. Among the total 1,612 cases apprehended, crimes involving child sexual exploitation materials (706 cases, 43.8%) and illegal filming crimes (520 cases, 32.2%) accounted for the largest proportions, followed by illegal sexual videos (338 cases, 21%) and false videos (48 cases, 3%), according to the police.

By suspect age group, 47.6% of suspects involved in child sexual exploitation material crimes were teenagers. This was followed by those in their 20s (40%), 30s (8.8%), 40s (2.2%), 50s (1.1%), and 60s and above (0.3%). Many teenagers were also involved in false video crimes (synthetic or edited sexual violence videos). Among suspects arrested for false videos, 64.3% were teenagers, followed by those in their 20s (17.9%), 30s (12.5%), and 50s (3.56%).

Meanwhile, the NIH reported that as a result of actively utilizing undercover investigations targeting digital sexual crimes against children and adolescents following the enforcement of the revised Youth Protection Act in September last year, a total of 201 investigations were conducted over 13 months, leading to the arrest of 433 individuals, with 30 detained.

Undercover investigations conducted without revealing police identity ('identity non-disclosure investigations') resulted in 260 arrests (13 detained), while those conducted under disguised identities other than police officers ('identity disguise investigations') led to 173 arrests (17 detained). Among the types of crimes apprehended, sales, distribution, and advertising of child sexual exploitation materials accounted for 289 individuals (66.7%), exceeding half, followed by possession and viewing of child sexual exploitation materials at 98 individuals (22.6%).

The police stated that they will maintain a continuous crackdown system regardless of the end of the intensive crackdown period and will actively utilize undercover investigation systems, especially for digital sexual crimes against children and adolescents. However, under the current Youth Protection Act, undercover investigations are only permitted for digital sexual crimes targeting 'children and adolescents.' Since adult victims have also been identified during crackdowns, the police indicated that legal amendments are necessary to expand the scope of undercover investigations to include crimes involving 'adults.'

A NIH official said, "We will continue to strive to improve investigative conditions by introducing advanced techniques so that undercover investigations can be effectively conducted in the field," adding, "We will do our best to eradicate cyber sexual violence crimes by strictly cracking down through comprehensive cyber investigation techniques and international cooperation investigations."

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