Police declare war on child porn

National Police Agency (NPA) chief Kim Ki-yong announces a set of measures to combat rising sex crimes against children and women, at the NPA headquarters in Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times photo by Koh Young-kwon

Indecent file-sharing websites to be looked into, shut down

Police launched a crackdown on producers, distributors and holders of child pornography, Monday, in an effort to counter the rising number of sexual assaults against minors.

The National Police Agency (NPA) will set up a special team to investigate hundreds of peer-to-peer file sharing websites and Internet servers that have been distributing child pornography. Those who download and upload such illegal content and keep them on their computers or on USB memory sticks will also face prosecution, police said.

These are part of measures that police have taken amid growing public calls for tougher punishment against rapists and pedophiles. Officers said they will step up patrols in crime-prone areas and increase street lights and surveillance cameras in public places.

Declaring a “state of emergency” for one month, NPA chief Kim Ki-yong said police will use all available measures to crack down on sex offenders.

“Sexual crimes against minors and women continue to take place here despite our efforts to prevent them. We must come up with more fundamental solutions,” Kim said. “Victimizing women and children should never be tolerated.”

Last week, police arrested a 23-year-old man, Ko Jong-seok, for allegedly abducting a sleeping seven-year-old girl from her home and brutally raping her in Naju, South Jeolla Province. Days earlier, a convicted sex criminal attempted to rape a woman in eastern Seoul before stabbing her to death, although the suspect was wearing an electronic anklet at the time.

Police said they will ask prosecutors to demand much heavier jail terms for murderers and sex offenders, reflecting growing public concern about crimes against children and women.

“We will set up a special department that is made up of investigators and psychologists to deal with such crimes,” a police spokesman said. “We will strengthen monitoring of 20,000 convicted sex offenders and track the latest location of convicts whose place of residence changes repeatedly.”

The officer also said police will establish a database that classifies crimes by motivation and tactics and train investigators to effectively handle high-risk sex offenders.

Senior officials of the government and the ruling party have agreed to expand the enforced usage of hormonal treatment against sex offenders as part of efforts to root out repeated assaults against women and children. Currently, the punishment is only reserved for pedophiles, but the Saenuri Party wants to increase its use to include all sexual offenders.

The government began using electronic anklets from 2008 and implemented chemical castration in 2011 to tackle rising sex crimes. However, such measures are still disputed due to their alleged low efficacy and cost problems.

By law, offenders who sexually abuse children aged 13 or younger and repeat offenders must wear the electronic anklets. If convicted, offenders may be subject to chemical castration if they are deemed to have the potential to repeatedly commit sex offenses against minors.

Police said monitoring former convicts wearing electronic anklets will be tightened. Officers will interview possible recidivists at least four times per month, double the current number, they said.

The measures are based on a recent police report that showed almost half of sex crimes that occurred last year were committed by convicted sex offenders. <The Korea Times/Na Jeong-ju>

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