Recently, the so-called Nth room case, which sexually exploits children or the youth through Telegram, has sparked huge public anger.

It has been pointed out, however, that criminal charges applicable to the perpetrator in the Nth room case do not reflect the seriousness of the actual crime. Although the man who ran this room on Telegram to share pornography sexually exploiting women provided such pornography to many people and allowed them to watch the pornography, and therefore committed a crime as serious as the production of sexually exploitative pornography, it dose not satisfy the criminal element with regard to the production of sexually exploitative pornography.

In addition, a ruling on the website operator who shared pornography of sexual acts involving children or the youth on the dark web (web where IPs cannot be tracked) interpreted the operator narrowly to play a role as a person who simply manages an online platform. The court considered the operator to simply play a role as a person who manages the website where child or youth pornography is distributed and sentenced the operator to just 1 year and 6 months in prison.

However, operating online platforms such as any website or room on Telegram where child or youth pornography is shared amounts to the act of not only aiding and abetting others’ production of child or youth pornography but also actively taking part and playing a leading role in a crime of producing child or youth pornography.

Meanwhile, any person who produces, imports, or exports child or youth pornography are subject to be sentenced to life in prison or up to 5 years in prison. It is necessary to punish those who create and operate any online platform where child or youth pornography is shared as equally severely as those who produce child or youth pornography, and to put in place measures that raise social awareness about crimes involving child or youth pornography.

Hence, the Act aims to change the term ‘child or youth pornography’ to ‘child or youth sexually exploitative pornography’ to clarify that this is a criminal act of sexually exploiting children or the youth, and overall strengthen punishment on crimes related to ‘child or youth sexually exploitative pornography,’ enabling punishment for any person who is involved in any operational activity that mediates ‘child or youth sexually exploitative pornography.’

Details

A. Change the term “child or youth pornography” to “child or youth sexually exploitative pornography” (subparagraph 5 of Article 2, etc.)

B. Allow to sentence any person who is involved in any operational activity that mediates “child or youth sexually exploitative pornography” even though they do not directly produce “child or youth sexually exploitative pornography” to life in prison or up to 5 years in prison (Article 11 (1))

C. Strengthen punishment for any person who sells and lends “child or youth sexually exploitative pornography” for commercial purposes from up to 10 years in prison to up to 15 years in prison (Article 11 (2))

D. Strengthen punishment for any person who possesses “child or youth sexually exploitative pornography” from up to 1 year in prison or up to 20 million won in fines to up to 3 years in prison or up to 30 million won in fines (Article 11 (5))

Change the term ‘child or youth pornography’ to ‘child or youth sexually exploitative pornography’ to clarify that this is a criminal act of sexually exploiting children or the youth, and overall strengthen punishment on crimes related to ‘child or youth sexually exploitative pornography,’ enabling punishment for any person who is involved in any operational activity that mediates ‘child or youth sexually exploitative pornography’