The government announced a 29% decrease in illegal pornography sites. Authorities arrested 32 operators of sites distributing illegal footage and shut down 66 sites.
On September 22, the government held the third meeting of the inter-agency task force on digital sex crimes at the Government Seoul Office to review the progress of its unified response to illegal sites.
The task force includes the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Korea Communications Commission, and the National Police Agency, and has been operational since April. In August, the task force announced a joint plan to combat illegal sites, shifting its policy to dismantle these sites to eradicate the re-distribution and spread of sexual exploitation materials.
As a result, the number of active illegal sites has decreased to 4,763, a 29% reduction.
Specifically, the National Police Agency focused on cracking down on sites distributing sexual exploitation materials. From January to August, police arrested 32 operators and shut down 66 sites.
In particular, they apprehended developers of 16 sites to prevent the re-distribution of victim videos. A total of 2.7 billion won in criminal proceeds was seized before prosecution.
Police also targeted illegal gambling sites that provided funding for operators of illegal filming, arresting 3,663 individuals and shutting down 236 sites. This operation resulted in the seizure of 176 billion won in gambling proceeds before prosecution. Authorities secured administrative access to 188 sites to prevent the re-establishment of similar sites.
The Korea Communications Standards Commission reported that as of August 20, it had completed blocking requests for 5,077 out of 6,683 illegal pornography sites (76%). Currently, 1,606 sites are undergoing review.
The processing time for site removals has also been shortened. An electronic review process for illegal footage has reduced the average review period from 1-2 weeks to within 24 hours.
In the first half of 2027, the government plans to implement access blocking technology for internet service providers (ISPs). To this end, the Korea Communications Commission, the Korea Communications Standards Commission, and eight ISPs have been operating a working group on access blocking technology. Since August, they have been verifying the compatibility of existing blocking systems with real network environments, as well as their capacity to handle large traffic volumes and ensure service safety.
Additionally, the Ministry of Science and ICT plans to develop foundational technology for automated detection, tracking, and evidence collection of illegal sites based on agentic AI, as well as for predicting and preemptively blocking their spread from 2027 to 2030.
The government is also pursuing legal and institutional improvements to eradicate digital sex crimes. In August, it proposed amendments to the law aimed at criminalizing the establishment of illegal sites, blocking advertising revenue from these sites, and enabling emergency blocking requests for sites that continuously refuse deletion requests.
Furthermore, the government plans to amend laws to introduce an 'active defense system' that allows investigative agencies to directly access illegal sites for evidence collection and other necessary actions.
Kim Jong-cheol, chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, stated, "Digital sex crimes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, exploiting new technologies for criminal methods and distribution. Even after being blocked, circumvention and re-distribution occur repeatedly. Therefore, we need to fundamentally block the operational bases and re-distribution routes of illegal sites, beyond merely deleting or blocking individual illegal information. The Korea Communications Commission will continue to strengthen its response capabilities against new encryption technologies under a 'zero tolerance principle.'"
* This article has been translated by AI.
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