Over 300 South Koreans Busted In An International Child Porn Crackdown
According to KBS news, a crackdown in six countries—South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong—has resulted in the arrest of 435 individuals, 85.9% of whom were South Korean.
The Korean National Police Agency announced that a special operation against the sexual exploitation of children, codenamed “Cyber Guardian,” was carried out over five weeks between February 24 to March 28, 2025 (KST). Police forces from the six countries collaborated to identify 544 individuals who had watched, possessed, distributed, and/or produced child pornographic content.
Of those 544, 435 were arrested—374 of them being South Koreans. 258 of those South Koreans either watched or possessed the exploitative material. 74 produced, 42 distributed, but only 13 were actually detained.
The data showed that, of the 374 Koreans busted in the crackdown, 213 were in their teens and 127 in their 20s. There were 23 individuals in their 30s, 10 in their 40s, and only one aged 50 or older.
The police noted, “Due to the nature of cybercrime, and how sexually exploitative content can spread all over the world in an instant once distributed, international crackdowns are essential.” The police hoped to continue expanding their international cooperation network to keep tracking down criminal activities.
Read more about South Korea’s ongoing battle against sexual exploitation of minors:
