The “Nth Room” case, in which dozens of women, including minors, were blackmailed into taking sexually exploitative videos using a messenger app, has made people realize the seriousness of digital sex crimes. Under the slogan, “Punishment is severe, protection is thorough,” the government has strengthened the punishment for digital sex crimes and taken fundamental measures. The “Anti-Nth room” legislation was enacted and the sentencing guidelines for crimes related to digital sexual assault were implemented, reflecting measures that need to be improved legislatively to eradicate digital sex crimes. It is necessary to examine whether the government’s measures to eradicate digital sex crimes are being systematically implemented and whether they are having the desired policy effects. Therefore, this study aims to examine the implementation process of various digital sex crime prevention measures contained in the Act and diagnose their performance.

  We summarize our research as follows: 1) We examine the specific contents of the Anti-Nth Room Act, which is the legislative outcome of prevention measures for Nth-Room case, and analyze their significance and limitations. 2) Examine the incidence of digital sex crimes, the characteristics of perpetrators and victims, and the nature of the crimes. 3) The prevention measures are broadly divided into the “Policy for Strengthening Punishment” and the “Policy for Strengthening Victim Protection and Support” to examine the implementation process, problems and difficulties, and uate the results. The “Punishment Enhancement Policy” includes expanding the scope of punishment for digital sex crimes, increasing statutory sentences, expanding security measures, establishing special regulations for investigations, and implementing a digital sex crime sentencing guideline system. The “Policy for Strengthening Victim Protection and Support” includes strengthening the obligation of Internet Service Providers to prevent the distribution of digital sex crimes videos and strengthening support for deletion by victim support organizations and the KCSC(Korea Communications Standards Commission). 4) Finally, we propose improvement measures based on prior research on digital sex crime prevention measures, issues discussed during the revision of the Anti-Nth room Act, review of subsequent revision bills proposed after the revision of the Anti-Nth room Act, problems revealed during the enforcement of the Anti-Nth room legislation, and opinions of practitioners and experts on improvement measures. To address these findings, this study utilizes the following research methods: 1) literature review, 2) statistical data analysis, 3) secondary data analysis of personal information registration data, 4) content analysis of digital sex crime judgments and transparency reports, and 5) in-depth interviews and FGIs with victim support organizations, KCSC officials, and police officers.

  Among the findings of the study, we examined the significance and limitations of prevention measures and prevention laws. The government has taken preventive measures such as amending various laws to eradicate digital sex crimes. However, there are still issues such as the need to improve the effectiveness of investigations and strengthen punishments, the need to expand the scope of businesses that should have the obligation to prevent the distribution of illegal images and the scope of targeted crimes, and the need to revise individual laws to strengthen victim protection and support.

  Looking at the current status and characteristics of digital sex crimes, the number of cases of digital sex crimes has risen sharply since the announcement of measures to prevent “Nth room” cases. This is likely a result of the expanded scope of punishment under the new law and intensive police crackdowns. The majority of perpetrators are male, but the percentage of female offenders is increasing. Digital sex crimes are mostly committed by young people under the age of 30, but there is also a high percentage of underage perpetrators. The majority of victims of digital sex crimes are female, but the number of male victims is also increasing. The types of digital sex crime victimization include illegal filming, editing and synthesis, distribution, threats, and cyber-bullying. Distribution on web-hards has almost disappeared, but distribution on adult sites is on the rise.

  In terms of police investigations, the identity non-disclosure investigation and the identity disguise investigation have been established as important investigative techniques for the rapid investigation of digital sex crimes against children and adolescents. However, investigative practitioners are suggesting that regulations should be established to allow for post-approval in the case of a identity non-disclosure investigation so that the investigation can be conducted in a timely manner. On the other hand, in the case of undercover investigations, further discussion is needed on how to set up a disguise identity and what kind of sexual exploitation videos to possess, sell, or advertise. In addition, since international investigative cooperation is essential for a quick and smooth response to digital sex crimes, it is necessary to sign international treaties to prevent cybercrime and develop relevant domestic implementing laws.

  In terms of prosecution dispositions, prosecutors have been most aggressive in prosecuting sexually exploitative materials of child and adolescent among digital sex crimes since 2020. However, dispositions for the production and distribution of child and adolescent sexual exploitation crimes have a high rate of ‘no prosecution’. The disposition of crimes such as possession of sexually exploitative materials of child and adolescent showed a high proportion of ‘no charges’ and ‘request for supplementary investigation’. Therefore, overall, it is necessary to enhance the investigation of sexually exploitative material crimes of child and adolescent. On the other hand, the rate of non-prosecution continues to be high for crimes involving the use of cameras and other devices. In addition, the proportion of ‘no charges’ among the reasons for non-prosecution is high and increasing. 

  When analyzing court sentencing trends, the rate of fines is decreasing and the rate of probation is increasing for crimes involving the use of cameras and other devices. For child and adolescent sexual exploitation crimes, the proportion of fines decreased sharply and the proportion of prison sentences increased. On the other hand, the court’s punishment for child and adolescent sexual exploitation crimes has been strengthened compared to before the Nth room case, but a significant number of cases were still sentenced below the statutory lower limit. When looking at the application and effectiveness of the digital sex crime sentencing guidelines, the rate of consideration of mitigating factors is slightly higher than that of aggravating factors. The most frequently considered special mitigating factor is the mitigating factor of “victim’s unwillingness to punish”. In all cases of deviating from the sentencing guidelines, the reasons for departure are stated, but the specific reasons for departure from the sentencing guidelines are not clearly stated, making it difficult to determine the justification for departure from the recommended sentence. For digital sex crimes, the impact of departures on the rate at which probation is imposed varies depending on the type of digital sex offenses. The application of the mitigating factors did not affect the difference in prison sentences. However, when we analyzed the difference in probation mitigating factors by sentencing guideline, we found that the “victim’s unwillingness to punish” factor strongly influenced probation sentences regardless of sentencing guideline, suggesting that the victim’s intent can have a significant impact on sentencing.

  Workers at organizations that support victims of digital sex crimes and practitioners at the KCSC say that preventive measures have been effective in Korea and that cooperation between related organizations is working well. However, there has been an increase in the number of cases where illegal sites with servers overseas are distributing illegal images, and in such cases, there are difficulties in applying domestic laws and supporting the deletion of illegal images. In particular, access blocking measures have technical limitations and require active investigation and international cooperation by law enforcement agencies. In terms of the operation of the victim support system, the current protection and support system for victims of digital sex crimes is divided between the central government and local governments. As a result, there are no unified support standards between organizations and no discussion on the allocation of tasks between organizations. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the overall victim protection and support system. In terms of securing manpower, there are tasks that can increase efficiency by accumulating know-how, but many workers are hired as temporary workers, causing work gaps, and it is difficult to hire specialized workers due to low labor costs. In addition to this, child and adolescent victims tend to be reluctant to report their victimization, making it difficult to provide support, and there are many cases where illegal filming and sharing of footage has become a culture of play, making it difficult to distinguish between perpetrators and victims. Therefore, it is necessary to provide digital culture education and digital sex crime prevention education.

  ISPs(Internet Service Providers) are obligated to prevent the distribution of digital sex crimes and are required to submit annual transparency reports. The providers with a duty to act proactively handled 70.2% of the reports received, and most of the posts (99.8%) were removed or disconnected on their own. However, despite the fact that most of the posts requested to be reported and deleted are handled by the providers’ own judgment, the transparency report mostly does not include this information, which needs to be improved. In addition to this, it is necessary to check the usefulness of setting restricted search terms and the appropriateness of the message displayed when restricting search, and it is necessary to monitor whether the filtering technology is being applied well.

  Based on these findings, this study makes the following policy recommendations: 1) In terms of investigating digital sex crimes, the effectiveness of responding to digital sex crimes should be strengthened by allowing post-approval of identity non-disclosure investigations in urgent cases. It is also essential to strengthen international investigative cooperation. 2) In terms of punishment for digital sex offenders, it is necessary to redesign security dispositions that take into account the characteristics of digital sex crimes and standardize the way sentencing factors are written when deviating from the sentencing standards for digital sex crimes. In addition, it is necessary to clarify the standard of ‘unwillingness to punish’ as a general sentencing factor and a mitigating factor for probation, and to develop various sentencing factors that take into account the characteristics of the crime. 3) In terms of victim support, it is necessary to improve the victim support system through a unified control tower and establish a cooperation system. It is also necessary to cultivate competent human resources and strengthen education on digital sex crimes. 4) In terms of preventing the distribution of digital sex crime materials, it is necessary to expand the scope of illegal content to include information related to ‘sexual solicitation of children and adolescents’ and ‘Information about the victim's identity’. It is also necessary to establish a system to report to the police when an ISP identifies digital sexual offense materials. In order to improve the effectiveness of pre-mandatory measures, the supervising function of the Korea Communication Commission should be strengthened and the minimum reporting requirements to be included in transparency reports should be expanded.