Ministry of Justice Supervises Electronic Monitoring Bracelet Wearers for 'Minor Chatting' Activities

Inspection through Digital Analysis by the National Forensic Service

The Ministry of Justice is strengthening the prevention of sex crimes involving the use of social networking services (SNS) by electronic monitoring subjects wearing location-tracking electronic devices (electronic anklets) through the use of a digital analysis system.

According to the Ministry of Justice on the 28th, the Crime Prevention Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Justice and the National Forensic Service of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety first introduced a digital analysis system last October that can detect if electronic monitoring subjects delete chat apps, and have been conducting a pilot operation since then.

Additionally, starting this month, probation offices have equipped themselves with their own data acquisition devices and are actively utilizing them to check compliance, thereby further strengthening the prevention of sex crimes involving the use of chat and SNS by electronic monitoring subjects.

Until now, even if electronic monitoring subjects who were ordered by the court to comply with rules such as "prohibition of chatting with minors" violated these rules and chatted with minors, it was practically difficult to detect if they deleted the chat apps afterward.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Digital analysis is conducted by probation officers who unexpectedly collect mobile phones and other devices from the subjects. If violations of compliance are confirmed through the analysis results, investigations are immediately initiated.

Strict measures will be taken, including requesting police investigations for additional crimes revealed during the investigation process. During the pilot operation period last October, there was a case where an electronic monitoring subject who was ordered to comply with the "prohibition of chatting with minors" installed a chat app and engaged in sexual conversations with minors, was detected through the probation officer’s digital analysis, and is currently under investigation.

Yoon Woong-jang, Director of the Crime Prevention Policy Bureau, stated, "Recently, digital sex crimes involving enticement through chatting and SNS have been increasing in our society." He added, "By actively utilizing the digital analysis system to check compliance of electronic monitoring subjects, we will do our best to fundamentally block sex crimes against minors."

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