Imprisonment up to 3 Years for Inducing Conversations or Sexual Acts for Sexual Exploitation
Police Allowed to Conceal Identity and Use Undercover Operations for Digital Sex Crime Investigations
[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] A bill specifying the grounds for punishing grooming acts aimed at sexually exploiting children and adolescents has been passed.
On the 26th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced that the partial amendment to the Act on the Protection of Children and Adolescents from Sexual Abuse, which includes grounds for punishing online grooming acts, passed the plenary session of the National Assembly. The amendment will be submitted to the State Council, promulgated, and is scheduled to take effect six months later.
The amendment includes grounds to punish acts of continuing conversations that induce sexual desire, shame, or disgust, or acts that lure or encourage children and adolescents to engage in sexual acts online for the purpose of sexually exploiting them.
It also abolishes the statute of limitations for crimes involving the production, export, or import of child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials, allowing the state to pursue and punish these inhumane crimes against children and adolescents to the end.
Those who solicit or lure children and adolescents for the purpose of prostitution may face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won.
To effectively detect and prevent digital sex crimes against children and adolescents, the amendment also allows the police to investigate undercover or without revealing their identity. During investigations, officers can conceal their identity and collect evidence or materials, and if there is suspicion of a crime, they may conduct undercover investigations with court approval to achieve investigative objectives.
Jeong Young-ae, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, said, "With this legal amendment, we can strengthen investigations and punishments for sexual exploitation crimes against children and adolescents, including online grooming. We will do our best to eradicate digital sex crimes so that children and adolescents can grow up safely without being exposed to the risks of sexual exploitation crimes."
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