South Korea closes illegal websites distributing exploitative content
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South Korean authorities shut down over 60 websites this year that distributed sexually exploitative material, and arrested 32 people operating those sites.
In April, the gender equality ministry, the Korea Media and Communications Commission, and the National Police Agency created a joint task force to address digital sex crimes and support victims. This effort led to a significant increase in website closures compared to last year, when only six such sites were taken down.
The government focused on sites with servers located outside of South Korea that had previously ignored requests to remove illegal content. Authorities not only closed the 66 websites but also remotely deleted illegal videos from 16 of them to prevent further distribution. They also confiscated 2.7 billion won (approximately US$2 million) gained through the illegal operations. Beyond closing the sites, the interagency task force also targeted related criminal activity.
They shut down 236 illegal gambling websites suspected of funding the distribution of exploitative material and apprehended 3,663 people involved, seizing 176 billion won from those operations. As a result of these combined efforts, the number of accessible websites containing illegal content decreased from 6,683 last month to 4,736.
