Seoul police announce tougher rules on child pornography

In the wake of the murder of a girl in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, by a convicted sex offender, police will crack down harder on those who make child pornography and also those who possess it.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on Monday said it will crack down on the production, export, import and sale of pornography featuring children, their distribution online at web hard drives and peer-to-peer sites, and their downloads. The materials include those featuring children as well as videos and photos featuring adults disguised as children doing sexual acts. Those who download and possess these materials are also subject to punishment.

Police will track these materials at porn sites, webhards and peer-to-peer sites, and track the IP addresses of people who upload or download them. Even if a single person uploads such material, hundreds and thousands of people can download them, making detection difficult. Sending and receiving the files through a USB or removable hard disc are also tough to track.

Nevertheless, the latest measure is considered a warning against the act of possessing sexual materials with children. Since possessing them is illegal, people who felt they were doing nothing wrong by downloading the material will be alerted.

A police official said, "The regulations are aimed at raising alert on the act of possession of obscene materials," adding, "If we prevent the reckless spread of these materials on the Internet, the act of possession will also decline to some degree."

In more developed countries such as the U.S., those possessing child pornography face up to 10 years in prison, but Korea imposes a fine of under 20 million won (17,582 dollars). Experts say stronger punishment is needed for the latest measure to produce tangible effects.

neo@donga.com