"Having a Hard Time? Uncle Will Listen to Your Worries" How Sexual Exploitation Began [Han Seung-gon's Case Notebook]

Listening to concerns and building empathy through chat apps
After establishing trust, sexual conversations and photo requests
Experts say "Urgent need to create educational materials suitable for each age group"

Online grooming crimes refer to forming intimacy exclusively with emotionally vulnerable teenagers and committing sexual exploitation offenses. The primary targets are adolescents in their developmental stages.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "I have a lot of life experience, so tell me, I'll listen to your worries."

# A teenage girl named Lee, who was going through puberty, maintained a relationship as a kind of counselor and student by sharing 'worry consultations' with a man in his 40s named Kim through a chat application. Lee began sharing everything with Kim, including her own worries, problems with friends, grades, and conflicts with family. Before she knew it, Lee was unknowingly dependent on Kim, and their intimacy grew even stronger.

Then suddenly, Kim changed. He said, "I've been listening to your worries like this, so shouldn't you grant me at least one wish?" and asked, "Send me a nude photo." At first, Lee refused, but she had no choice but to continue sexual conversations and send sexual photos under Kim's threats, as he knew all about her private life. Lee said, "Before I realized it, I had become a victim of sexual violence," and added, "It seems he approached me with a deliberate and planned intention from the start."

This case is a typical example of online grooming crime. It is a digital sex crime where the perpetrator gains favor and builds trust before sexually abusing or exploiting the victim, psychologically controlling them. For example, once the victim forms a trusting relationship with the perpetrator through chat apps, the perpetrator suddenly changes and demands body photos or conditional meetings.

They exploit the emotional instability of adolescents by pretending to listen and empathize with their worries, meticulously preparing the crime. This is why many victims are teenagers. According to the '2020 Victim Counseling Statistics' released by the Korea Cyber Sexual Violence Center in January this year, out of 162 reported victim counseling cases, 14 were online grooming cases, and among these, 11 involved teenage victims.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family's analysis of court verdicts on sex offenders against children and adolescents in 2019, titled 'Trends and Analysis of Sex Crimes Against Children and Adolescents,' the total number of child and adolescent victims of sex crimes in 2019 was 3,622, a 6.1% decrease from the previous year (3,859).

However, the number of digital sex crime victims increased significantly. In 2019, there were 505 child and adolescent victims of digital sex crimes, a 101.2% increase from the previous year (251).

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family analyzed that "this reflects the characteristic of digital sex crimes where a single perpetrator can commit crimes against multiple children and adolescents."

Citizens emphasize the need for strong punishment. Park, a man in his 40s working at a company, said, "Sex crimes against adolescents must be punished very severely," and raised his voice, "They must be eradicated completely." Lee, a father in his 40s raising two elementary school children, said, "Since I am raising children, it really doesn't feel like someone else's problem," and pointed out, "Sexual exploitation is difficult to heal and the scars last a long time. In that sense, the state must punish it with strong penalties."

Experts suggest that preventive education for adolescents about crimes that occur by intentionally creating intimate relationships is necessary.

A paper titled 'A Study on Online Grooming Sex Crimes Against Children and Adolescents' published in the academic journal 'Social Welfare Research' emphasized, "The beginning of sexual exploitation lies not in the sexual aspect but in the emotional aspect," and stressed, "From a social welfare policy perspective, focus should be placed on the mental health of children and adolescents to fill their emotional voids and provide safe ways to manage and relieve stress."

It continued, "People who have close relationships with children and adolescents, such as parents and teachers in homes and schools, need to be provided with information on how to detect grooming victims among children and adolescents and what measures to take after detection as a response manual," and suggested, "It is urgent to produce educational materials suitable for each age group during childhood and adolescence, not only for preschool children."

Meanwhile, the bill to punish online grooming passed the National Assembly plenary session on February 26. After a preparation period, the revised law is scheduled to take effect on September 24. According to the bill, if someone continues or repeatedly engages in conversations that may arouse sexual desire or feelings of shame or disgust for the purpose of sexually exploiting children or adolescents, they may face imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won.