KCSC Blocks Access to 523 Illegal Filming Cases Related to 'El'

Signboard of the Korea Communications Standards Commission. Photo by Korea Communications Standards Commission

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) announced on the 5th that it has urgently reviewed and blocked access to 523 cases of illegal sexual exploitation materials involving minor victims related to the sexual exploitation criminal known as "El (alias)" since the 31st of last month.

The KCSC restricted domestic users' access to sexual exploitation materials of minor victims distributed under titles such as "○○ girl" on illegal overseas pornographic websites and requested overseas operators to delete the original content.

Additionally, the KCSC urgently reviewed 429 cases of illegal sexual exploitation materials involving minor victims related to the sexual exploitation criminal "El," as requested by the National Police Agency for registration in the "Public DNA Database," and confirmed these as "illegal filming materials."

The 429 confirmed sexual exploitation materials will have their unique information values, such as audio frequencies and video color values, extracted as DNA and be constructed into a "Public DNA Database (DB)." This will be distributed to "obligated operators" under the Telecommunications Business Act. Subsequently, filtering measures such as user access restrictions will be implemented to block distribution on domestic internet sites.

The KCSC stated that to prevent the spread of harm through the online distribution of sexual exploitation materials involving minors, it will take all possible measures including continuous monitoring of overseas SNS and illegal sites, cooperation with domestic and international related agencies such as the National Police Agency, and collaboration with domestic and international platform operators for voluntary regulation.

A KCSC official emphasized, "Distributing or viewing illegal filming materials is a serious illegal act that infringes on the personality rights of victims, and all internet users must not forget that they can be punished under relevant laws." They urged, "Please report any discovered digital sexual crime information immediately to the KCSC."