‘Digital Sex Crimes’ Youth Victims Increase 22 Times

Jeon Jin-sook "Stricter Punishments... Government-Level Protection Measures Needed"

Jeon Jin-sook Assembly Member

Amid a recent surge in digital sex crime victims, it has been revealed that victims under their 20s, including adolescents and young adults, are particularly prominent.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to Jeon Jin-sook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea representing Gwangju Buk-gu Eul, since 2018, the number of digital sex crime victims has reached 41,321. The number increased nearly sevenfold from 1,315 in 2018 to 9,032 as of September 2024. Among teenagers, the figure skyrocketed 22.2 times from 111 to 2,467 during the same period, while those in their 20s saw an 18.4-fold increase from 251 to 4,611.

In the recent five years since 2020, 59,110 cases of victimization have occurred. Examining the types of harm, anxiety over distribution accounted for the highest number at 13,196 cases (22.3%), followed by illegal filming at 12,618 cases (21.3%), and distribution threats at 11,586 cases (19.6%).

The seriousness of digital sex crimes is also evident in the relationship between perpetrators and victims. Among all victims, 41.6% (13,439 people) could not identify the perpetrator, and 12.3% (3,968 people) were victimized by strangers. This highlights the social threat posed by indiscriminate digital sex crimes committed by unknown individuals. Alongside this, digital sex crimes occurring within intimate and social relationships are also steadily increasing.

Rep. Jeon emphasized, “Digital sex crime victimization among adolescents and young adults is rapidly increasing,” adding, “In addition to strengthening legal penalties, thorough measures are needed to expand government support and protection.”

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