Presidential Candidates Unite to Protect Child and Adolescent Victims of Sexual Exploitation [Sexual Exploitation, Out]

Democratic Party, People Power Party, and Democratic Labor Party Include Promises in Policy Platforms
Fines to Be Imposed on Platform Companies for Exposing Minors to Sexually Explicit Content
Enactment of the "Basic Child Act" Needed to Improve Understanding of Sexual Rights

Editor's NoteChild and adolescent prostitution is defined as sexual exploitation. This is because it is difficult to regard children and adolescents, whose sexual self-determination is not yet fully developed, as subjects capable of sexual consent or contractual agreement. Children and adolescents who quickly form relationships online through social media, messengers, and anonymous platforms are now more easily drawn into sexual exploitation crimes than in the past. According to the Center for Support of Victims of Digital Sex Crimes at the Korean Women’s Human Rights Institute, one in four people (27.8%) who received support for digital sex crimes last year were teenagers. Compared to 2023, the number of teenage victims supported by the center increased by more than 600, a rise of 3.3 percentage points. Sexual exploitation crimes against children and adolescents are clearly sexual abuse. This article examines whether there are ways to prevent such crimes and what specific countermeasures are needed, based on actual cases of victimization.

With the 21st presidential election approaching, we examined the pledges of each political party that included strengthening the prevention of child and adolescent sexual exploitation and enhancing support for victims in their policy platforms. The Democratic Party of Korea pledged to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents online, while the People Power Party proposed concrete measures to strengthen content regulations. The Democratic Labor Party presented the establishment of a Ministry of Gender Equality to comprehensively address digital sex crimes as a key pledge.

The Democratic Party of Korea addressed the issue of child and adolescent sexual exploitation within the broader framework of building a society that guarantees children's rights. The party first announced its intention to guarantee rights related to problems that may arise online. This can be interpreted as a commitment by both the government and platform companies to create a safe online environment for children and adolescents. This is closely related to the fact that over 80% of sexual exploitation crimes targeting children and adolescents involve the use of chat apps, social networking services (SNS), and messengers as channels for solicitation and crime.

In addition, the party announced plans to expedite the revision of various legal frameworks to ensure children's rights in the digital environment. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its 2019 review of South Korea's national report, recommended that the government address concerns about online violations of children's rights and take corrective measures. At the time, the committee highlighted the issue of child sexual exploitation mediated online and called for ▲ all necessary measures to address online prostitution, grooming, and sexual harassment by teachers, and ▲ the definition of online grooming and its designation as a criminal offense.

The People Power Party proposed technical measures and regulatory plans to block exposure to violent or sexually explicit media. The party announced that it would enact the 'Media Integrated Innovation Act,' which would impose fines if minors are exposed to violent or sexually explicit content.

Such measures are similar to the 'Online Safety Act' enacted in Australia and the United Kingdom. In Australia, content that the eSafety Commissioner orders to be removed must be processed within 48 hours, and failure to comply can result in fines of up to 555,000 Australian dollars (about 500 million won). In the United Kingdom, harmful content to children is regulated with varying degrees of severity, and violations of child protection obligations can result in fines of up to 18 million pounds (about 32 billion won) or 10% of annual revenue, whichever is greater. Additionally, the People Power Party plans to introduce technology that utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to proactively detect harmful content, including covert investigations.

Internally, the People Power Party has determined that the reality of child and adolescent sexual exploitation is serious and, to protect their human rights, is considering revising criminal investigation rules to make it mandatory to notify guardians of protection measures. The party is also reviewing the inclusion of stricter penalties for attempted conspiracy offenses in its pledges.

The Democratic Labor Party is focusing on strengthening responses to digital sexual violence against children and adolescents and has pledged to establish a 'Ministry of Gender Equality' to address dating and gender-based violence. This would involve expanding and reorganizing the current Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, broadening the scope of digital sexual violence victims to include children and adolescents, and strengthening protection measures. The party also plans to consider introducing compulsory investigation clauses for overseas SNS platform companies such as Telegram through the new ministry.

Furthermore, the Democratic Labor Party announced plans to enact the 'Basic Child Act' to guarantee the fundamental rights of children and to legally specify that children are subjects of rights. The party will guarantee non-discrimination and dignity for all children. It also pledged to increase the number of dedicated child abuse personnel and improve their working conditions, expanding the child welfare budget to the average level of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to data from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2018), South Korea's public social welfare expenditure for children was 11.1% of gross domestic product (GDP), significantly lower than the OECD average of 19.0%.

Jang Hye-young, co-chair of the Democratic Labor Party’s election committee, pointed out that the decreasing age of child and adolescent sexual exploitation victims is a social problem, stating, "We should consider introducing 'comprehensive sex education' that can help adolescents better understand their sexual rights."

If you are experiencing difficulties due to digital sex crimes, domestic violence, sexual violence, prostitution·sexual exploitation, dating violence, or stalking, you can receive support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, through the Women's Emergency Hotline 1366 (☎1366). For counseling related to child and adolescent sexual exploitation, anonymous one-on-one counseling is also available through the Korean Women’s Human Rights Institute’s youth counseling channel D4Youth (@d4youth).