(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Nov. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Close to 90 percent of individuals charged with the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material are in their teens and 20s, data showed Tuesday.
The National Investigation Headquarters announced that it had conducted a special crackdown on online sexual crimes for eight months since March of this year, apprehending 1,694 people.
Among them, 99 people were taken into custody.
Sorted by type of crime, 43.8 percent involved child sexual abuse material, followed by illegal photography, illegal pornography and fake videos.
Sorted by age, 47.6 percent of those involved with child sexual abuse material were in their teens, while 40 percent were in their 20s.
This comes as a contrast to the fact that illegal photography is evenly distributed among individuals of all age groups.
Cho Ju-bin and Kang Hoon, the two masterminds behind the high-profile Telegram sex abuse case who were arrested in 2020, were 24 and 18 years old, respectively.
Early exposure to pornography through smartphone enticed them to look for more, leading them to sexual abuse materials.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
