Crackdown on Child Sexual Exploitation Material: Police in 7 Asian Countries Arrest 445

#. In his 20s, Mr. A had been posting advertisements for the production and sale of deepfakes (fake videos) on social networking services (SNS) since last year, using phrases such as "humiliating acquaintances" and "composites." After creating deepfake videos using artificial intelligence (AI) and selling them along with personal information, he was arrested and detained through an undercover investigation.

#. In a separate case, Mr. B, a man in his 30s who had been deceiving minors to produce sexual exploitation material, was also detained by the police. In September of last year, he contacted a minor via SNS, offering pocket money and coaxed them into a video call. He then recorded the call to produce sexual exploitation material and threatened to distribute the footage if the victim refused further calls.

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The police, in cooperation with seven Asian countries, conducted a special crackdown on "child sexual exploitation materials."

The National Office of Investigation of the Korean National Police Agency announced on the 27th that, to strengthen transnational responses to child sexual exploitation crimes, it had carried out "Operation Cyber Guardian" from March 23 to April 17, in collaboration with police from seven Asian countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand, Brunei, and South Korea.

This marks the third joint special crackdown this year. Through this operation, the police forces of the seven countries apprehended a total of 445 individuals. The Korean police arrested 225 people-accounting for 50.6% of the total arrests-and among them, 19 were formally detained.

The crackdown targeted all acts related to the production, distribution, and possession of child sexual exploitation material using information and communications networks. Among the 225 offenders apprehended by the Korean police, 133 (59.1%) were arrested for production, which accounted for the largest proportion, followed by possession/viewing (22.2%) and distribution (18.7%). The largest age group among those arrested was teenagers (58.7%), followed by those in their 20s (30.7%), 30s (8.4%), and 40s (2.2%).

The police analysis indicated a noticeable trend of offenses committed by those in their teens and twenties who are familiar with digital media, with crimes intensifying within "peer groups" where both perpetrators and victims are adolescents. The Korean National Police Agency plans to maintain a strict response by conducting intensive crackdowns on cyber sexual violence crimes, including child sexual exploitation material, through the end of October this year.

Park Woohyun, Director of Cybercrime Investigation at the Korean National Police Agency, stated, "It is highly significant that Asian countries simultaneously launched investigations, responding to the borderless spread of child sexual exploitation crimes through overseas messengers and illegal websites. We will further strengthen international cooperation networks and mobilize all available investigative resources, including the use of undercover investigations, to relentlessly pursue and apprehend perpetrators, and we are committed to eradicating child sexual exploitation material."

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