- Enhanced cooperation through the Youth Safety Net and the Illicit Image Tracking System -

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (Minister JIN Sun Mee) and the Korean National Police Agency (Commissioner General MIN Gar Ryong) signed a memorandum of understanding for stronger protection of and support for at-risk youth and victims of digital sex crimes at the national police agency’s headquarters in western Seoul on July 11.

The MOU is intended to proactively identify and help youth-at-risk by building an inter-agency referral system* and to minimize damage caused by digital sex crimes through a close cooperation system between the Ministry and the Police Agency.

* Follow-up action to the Measures to Strengthen Support for At-Risk Youth in Communities (Ministerial meeting for social affairs on May 17, 2019)

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) and the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) will increase their protection and support for youth in crisis and victims of digital sex crimes through this MOU.

Under the MOU, the KNPA plans to strengthen customized services for juvenile offenders and delinquents and other teenagers in crisis through the Guidance Program* in which their information will be referred to the MOGEF-run Youth Safety Net** upon their completion of the program (with their or their legal guardians’ consent). The two national agencies will work together to provide on-street counseling and improve harmful environments on a regular basis.

* The Guidance Program makes referrals for juvenile offenders and delinquents to customized education and specialized counseling programs to prevent recidivism.

** The Youth Safety Net is a community-based cooperation network (Community Youth Safety Net) that refers to the resources needed to provide at-risk youth with customized services, such as counseling, protection, healthcare and self-reliance.

Even when at-risk youth were identified, a lack of information sharing among local government bodies, police agencies, schools and other relevant organizations prevented them from providing constant care for at-risk youth. The inter-agency referral system is expected to contribute to removing blind spots in protecting teenagers in crisis.

In addition, the KNPA’s Illicit Image Tracking System*, developed to provide swift support to victims, will be shared with the Support Center for Victims of Cyber Sex Crimes under the Ministry.

* The Illicit Image Tracking System provides the information needed for an investigation, such as IP addresses of those who distribute illegal images and videos via overseas pornographic websites, social media and P2P file sharing sites, thus allowing blocking and deletion requests to be made with broadcasting watchdog the Korea Communications Standards Commission.

The Support Center for Victims of Cyber Sex Crimes* struggled to provide deletion support because the staff in charge in deleting had to also search for illegal images by themselves, while the police agency was not able to promptly determine if collected videos are illicit or not.

*  The Support Center for Victims of Cyber Sex Crimes was established on April 30, 2018, to provide comprehensive services, such as counseling, deletion and investigation support, and legal and medical assistance referrals.

** The Center’s performance (Apr. 30, 2018 – Jun. 30, 2019): Its support was provided to 83,241 cases in total (Among them, 75,260 cases received deletion support videos)

Going forward, the system sharing is expected to expedite the search and deletion process and facilitate tracking of perpetrators.

Minister Jin Sun Mee said, “Coordination between an inspection agency and a supportive agency is crucial for proactive support and crime prevention for at-risk youth and victims of digital sex crimes,” adding, “We will continue to make various efforts to build a tightly-knit safety net to ensure no blind spots are left unaddressed.”

Commissioner General Min Gap Ryong stated, “At-risk youth and digital sex crime victims are socially vulnerable; therefore, they need help from the government and society. In this light, close cooperation between government agencies is vital for effective protection and support,” adding, “Building upon the community-based public safety system, we will do our utmost to actively identify youth in crisis and help them get needed aid from the government, while striving to provide multi-dimensional support to the victims of digital sex crimes by utilizing the shared systems.”