Number of Leaks Increased by 45% Last Year
Support for Deletion Only for Filmed Materials Under Current Law
Push to Strengthen Punishment for Child Online Grooming
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is pushing for a legal amendment to establish a basis for supporting the deletion of personal information of victims whose information has been distributed due to digital sex crimes.
On the 25th, the Ministry held the 11th Women's Violence Prevention Committee meeting and finalized the "Measures to Strengthen the Response System for Digital Sex Crimes" and the "Basic Plan for Women's Violence Prevention Policy 2024 Implementation Plan," which include these contents.
According to the current Act on the Prevention of Sexual Violence and Protection of Victims, the state can provide support for deletion when sexually exploitative materials or reproductions are distributed on information and communication networks.
The Ministry plans to push for an amendment to add "victims' personal information" to the deletion support targets. According to the "2023 Digital Sex Crime Victim Support Report" published on the 2nd by the Ministry and the Korea Women's Human Rights Institute, the number of deletion support cases for victim videos with personal information leaked last year accounted for 23.3% (57,082 cases) of the total deletion support cases. This is a 45.3% increase compared to the previous year.
A Ministry official explained, "Currently, the deletion of victims' personal information is only possible under laws related to defamation and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection," adding, "There are limitations in requesting deletion from service providers or providing counseling support at centers."
Additionally, an amendment to the Youth Protection Act will be pursued to expand the scope of grooming crimes targeting children and adolescents from online acts to include offline acts as well. To strengthen responses to overseas illegal sites, a hotline will be established with organizations such as the U.S. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Meanwhile, under the "Basic Plan for Women's Violence Prevention Policy" 2024 implementation plan, 19 central administrative agencies and 17 metropolitan cities and provinces will promote a total of 131 detailed tasks.
The emergency housing support project for stalking victims will expand from 6 locations nationwide last year to 17 locations this year. The free legal aid amount for stalking, dating violence, and complex damages will be increased from 5 million won to 6 million won per person.
A new self-reliance support fund (2.5 million won) will be established for children accompanying victims of domestic violence admitted to protection facilities, and a manual for the "Electronic Litigation Prior Comprehensive Consent System" to prevent exposure of victims' addresses will be prepared, with plans to extend the usage period.
Also, the number of dedicated personnel for video testimony interviews of minor sexual violence victims will increase from 25 locations last year to 38 locations this year. Amendments to the Youth Protection Act will be pursued to expand employment restrictions for sex offenders to foreign educational institutions and youth organizations, and to introduce sanctions for non-compliance with data submission.
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