"Harsher Punishment and Stronger Protection against Digital Sex Crimes"

A pan-government council announces “new measures to eradicate digital sex crimes” featuring: 

▸Harsher punishment for child and youth sexual abuse materials, new sentencing standards for digital sex crimes, and confiscation of proceeds from digital sex crimes 

▸Newly introduced punishment for online grooming, increase in the age of consent for negligent rape involving minors

▸Introduction of undercover investigation, reporting and reward system, punitive fines, etc.

□ The government has deliberated on and approved “the measures to eradicate digital sex crimes” at the inter-ministerial policy coordination meeting* presided over by Noh Hyeong-ouk, minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, on April 23, 2020.  

   * Attendees were ministers of related government ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Interior and Safety, Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Minister of SEMs and Startups, Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, Commissioner of Statistics Korea, Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency, and Bureau of SME Ombudsman. 

□ New forms of digital sex crimes are taking place on Internet messenger platforms as in recent cases including the “Nth room case” and the “Park-sa room case” on Telegram.  

 ㅇ These online sex crimes are causing public outrage because many of the victims are minors and heinous criminal techniques were used in these crimes.

□ The government has previously implemented two sets of digital sex crime prevention measures,* but they have achieved only limited success in dealing with new and emerging digital crimes that employ highly sophisticated criminal techniques and take place on heavily encrypted overseas platforms as information technology advances.  

 *The government announced the △“Comprehensive Measures for the Prevention of Digital Sex Crimes” in September 2017 and the △“Measures for the Prevention of Webhard Cartels” in January 2019. 

 ㅇ As we have witnessed in recent cases, digital crimes are quickly evolving into new phases. In these new types of digital crimes, for example, specific individuals are continuously and repeatedly exploited, digital criminals operate like business owners by making profit from selling paid services based on criminal activities, and multiple individuals play their respective roles and work like an organized crime ring.    

□ Against this backdrop, the government formed a public-private joint task force consisting of representatives of 9 government ministries and experts from the private sector in order to work out powerful measures; in the process, opinions have been widely collected from women’s groups and experts in related fields. 

 ㅇ Unlike the previous measures that targeted specific types of crime such as illegal filming, the new measures were designed to encompass the full spectrum of digital sex crimes so that there is no blind spot in dealing with new and emerging digital sex crimes. 

   ※ “Digital sexual abuse materials” as defined in the new measures include illegally filmed materials using transformed camera, synthesized or edited materials such as Deepfake, child and youth sexual abuse materials including materials produced through threat, coercion, grooming, etc., and videos distributed without the consent of the victim.

□ Under the goal of “eradicating digital sex crimes,” the government set the following four implementation strategies: 

   ① To establish the principle of zero tolerance against digital sex crimes

   ② To strengthen the protection of children and youth against digital sex crimes

   ③ To eliminate blind spots in punishment and protection 

   ④ To promote public awareness of digital sex crime as a felony

 ㅇ The government has come up with 17 major tasks and 41 specific tasks under the 4 strategies.

□ The following is a summary of the four strategies: 

1. Toughening punishment for digital sex crimes

□ (Impose harsher punishments for the production and distribution of digital sexual abuse materials) Previously, punishment for digital sex crimes was relatively light despite their gravity and consequences, but the government plans to increase the terms of statutory sentences for these crimes. 

 ㅇ In particular, the sale of child and youth sexually exploitative materials will be subject to harsher punishment with the imposition of the bottom limit of sentence terms, and those advertising child and youth sexual abuse materials not subject to punishment before will now be punished so as to prevent generating demand for such materials.  

□ (Punishment for plotting and conspiring to commit a serious sex crime) Recently, in some cases, sex criminals plotted a sexual assault on social media and executed the planned crime offline. 

 ㅇ Plotting and conspiring to commit murder are punished. Likewise, plotting and conspiring to commit gang rape and rape of minors will be treated as a felony and consequently punished even if the plot has not been actually carried out. 

□ (Sentencing standards) In many cases, digital sex crimes have been punished with lighter sentences contrary to public expectations even after the statutory sentence terms had been increased; thus causing public distrust. 

 ㅇ The prosecution started implementing tighter case-handling criteria and sentencing standards against digital sex crimes on April 9, 2020. 

 ㅇ In addition, the Sentencing Committee of the Supreme Court is currently working to create much tougher sentencing standards for digital sex crimes. 

□ (Confiscation of criminal proceeds) The government will seek to confiscate criminal proceeds more actively to deter digital sex crimes that are becoming increasingly organized and structured to generate profit like business operations. 

 ㅇ The government will introduce a separate confiscation system* that allows prosecutors to confiscate criminal proceeds even before perpetrators are indicted or convicted, and assets acquired during the period of crime will be presumed to be criminal proceeds in order to ensure that sex offenders get no financial gains from their crimes.   

   * Separate Confiscation System: Prosecutors can file for the confiscation and collection of criminal proceeds without indictment → The court decides whether or not to grant permission. 

□ (Increased disclosure of personal information) More personal information of digital sex criminals will be disclosed to the public. 

 ㅇ Personal information including the faces of suspects will be disclosed in the criminal investigation phase if the case is of sufficient gravity. 

 ㅇ Previously, disclosure of personal information was limited to sex criminals convicted of rape and other serious sexual assaults against children and youth. Under the revised laws, however, it will now be applicable to producers and sellers of child and youth sexual abuse materials.  

2. Strengthening the protection of children and youth

□ (Punishment for online grooming) Online grooming, an act of luring and tricking children and youth into falsely consenting to sexual abuse, will be newly subject to punishment; thus eliminating blind spots in the protection of children and youth. 

   * The entire process from requesting sexual videos or photos and threatening to distribute them online to asking for personal meetings and actual face-to-face meetings will be punished. 

□ (Increase in the age of consent for negligent rape of minors) Previously, negligent rape of minors was applicable to children 13 years or younger, which has been controversial as many think the age criteria fail to protect minors properly. 

    * Age of consent for negligent rape in other countries: 13 (Japan), 14 (Germany), 16 (UK), 16～18 (varies from state to state in the US) 

 ㅇ Current laws have revealed loopholes in protecting minors in recent digital sex crimes including the Nth room case where a large number of minors were victimized. Thus, laws will be amended to raise the age of consent to 16 in order to protect minors from digital sex crimes better. 

□ (Undercover investigation) It is becoming more and more difficult to detect digital sex crimes because increased encryption and online security allow digital sexual abuse materials to be distributed in an increasingly secretive, elusive manner. As such, undercover investigation techniques will be introduced in dealing with digital sex crimes to allow investigators to pose as minors, thereby making it easier to detect and catch digital sex criminals. 

 ㅇ Guidelines will be established so that undercover investigation techniques that are currently used only for drug probes can be employed immediately. A legal basis will be established in the relevant laws in a way that can protect investigators working undercover and ensure the admissibility of evidence obtained through undercover operations. 

□ (Reporting and reward system) The government will build a closely knit surveillance network of citizens by making it easy for people to detect and identify digital sexual abuse materials and encouraging people to report illegal digital sex crime materials. 

    * If the suspect is indicted of a criminal charge or released on probation after being arrested based on a report, the person who reported the suspect can receive a reward. 

3. Curbing demand and raising awareness

□ (Punishing demand-side activities including possession and purchase) The government will promote awareness that demand-side activities such as looking for, buying, or possessing sexual abuse materials constitute a crime and will make the legal punishment harsher for these activities.  

 ㅇ In addition, individuals who have been slapped with a fine for possessing child and youth sexual abuse materials will be banned from working at schools and daycare centers.

 ㅇ Possession of child and youth sexual abuse materials is punishable under current laws, but laws will be amended to punish those who possess sexual crime materials targeting or victimizing “adults”; thus leaving no legal blind spot. 

 ㅇ In addition, laws will be changed to punish those who merely purchase child and youth sexual abuse materials even if these materials are not in their possession. 

□ (Customized education for different target groups) There is much public concern over a large number of minors and men serving in the military who are involved in the recent sexual exploitation cases. Thus, the government will provide customized sexual crime prevention programs for students, out-of-school youths (OSYs), and men serving in the military. 

 ㅇ In particular, gender sensitivity-based education programs for students will be developed to provide comprehensive school sex education and help students develop healthy sexual values system and attitude. 

4. Providing effective support for victims of digital sexual abuse

□ (Identifying them as victims) In some cases, children and youth who are victims of a sex crime are treated as “voluntary sellers of sex” and placed in custody at youth detention centers. As a result, victims of sex crimes often become reluctant to report the crime, causing perpetrators to take advantage of this; thus creating legal loopholes in the protection of victims. 

 ㅇ Those who are involved in sex trafficking will be referred to as “victims” instead of “target children or youth” as per current laws, so that they are better protected instead of viewing them as the subject of  punishment. 

□ (Support for the speedy deletion of sexual abuse videos) Speedy support will also be made available at nighttime when more sexual materials are distributed and spread online. 

 ㅇ To this end, MOGEF will further strengthen the role of the “Digital Sex Crime Victims Support Center” to operate a 24-hour one-stop support system that provides comprehensive support, including deletion of problem materials, round-the-clock counseling, investigation assistance, and help with tracking and deleting secondary and tertiary dissemination of sexual materials. 

 ㅇ The Korea Communications Standards Commission will streamline and simplify the deletion procedures, including introducing the  “delete first, review the case later” approach, to speed up the deletion process. 

     * Currently, the commission reviews a case upon receipt of the victim’s report and requests the site manager to delete the material in question. The entire process takes approximately 24 hours.

 ㅇ Furthermore, the government is planning to develop a technology for swiftly detecting and automatically filtering suspicious materials that can be used throughout the entire process of responding to digital sex crimes, from predicting and blocking the spread of problem materials to catching perpetrators and deleting the materials. 

□ (Heavier responsibility of Internet business operators) It is also very crucial to hold Internet business operators accountable for videos and information they handle. 

 ㅇ Previously, Internet business operators were obligated to delete only illegally filmed materials immediately upon discovering them; now, however, they are required to remove all digital sexual abuse videos. Additionally, it is mandatory not only for webhard operators but also for all Internet business operators to run technological safety programs including those for deleting and filtering questionable materials to prevent the distribution of sexual abuse materials. 

 ㅇ Internet business operators will be slapped with punitive fines if they violate the regulation; thus increasing their responsibility for preventing the distribution of sexual abuse materials. 

ㅇ Extraterritorial jurisdiction will apply to impose the obligation of banning the distribution of illegal information on overseas business operators under the Act on the Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc. 

□ (Stricter regulations on the prevention of personal information leak) If it is necessary for a victim to change his or her resident registration number in order to protect him or her from secondary online victimization resulting from the potential disclosure of personal information by a third party or from threats of direct, offline crimes, the processing time will be drastically reduced from the previous three months to a mere three weeks. 

 ㅇ Finally, those performing public services in lieu of their military duty will be banned entirely from accessing or handling personal data at government administrative services organizations and face harsher punishment if they leak personal data while on duty to prevent the leak of personal data by unauthorized individuals as was in the Nth room case.  

□ Declaring digital sex crimes as crimes against humanity, the government will take this opportunity to root them out and create a safer society by pooling all our resources into the fight against such crimes.