Think tank proposes child porn sting operations

The National Assembly Research Service, the legislature’s think tank, proposed that the country’s law enforcement system adopt sting operations to combat child pornography.

In a report published Wednesday, the think tank argued that undercover operations could effectively deal with perpetrators on the dark web, an area of the internet that users can enter using special software and maintain anonymity.

Sting operations could help reduce the extensive harm caused by child pornography, the report said. South Korea does not permit undercover operations if it involves a suspect who does not intend to commit a crime, but police have often employed the method when investigating prostitution and drug trafficking.

The report also called on courts not to deliver penalties short of what is stipulated in the laws in sex crime cases. South Korean courts have long been accused of leniency in punishing sex offenders. The court should come up with fresh standards for punishment that does not seem too lax, the report said.

In a joint operation with the US and UK in October, about 300 users of Welcome To Video – South Korea-based dark web site that sold child pornography for digital currency – were arrested worldwide. Seventy-two percent of them were Koreans.

Local prosecutors had already indicted the Korean owner of the site, surnamed Son, well before the joint investigation, and he was sentenced to 18 months in prison in May. His punishment prompted the public outcry for stronger punishment for child pornography as the investigation news made headlines.

By Choi Si-young (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)