This is one of the sites where illegally filmed materials are distributed and shared.
Access is possible without any special bypass procedures, and illegally filmed content targeting Koreans is categorized separately.
Another site is operated in Korean and also features a separate category for videos of Koreans.
According to government analysis, the number of illicitly filmed content sites that remain accessible reaches 6,700.
Among them, about 1,300 are operated in Korean or have Korea-related categories, and the number of posts related to Koreans is estimated at approximately 2.15 million.
These sites make money through banner advertisements.
By displaying gambling and prostitution ads on their homepages to generate advertising revenue, they reportedly collect anywhere from 500,000 won to as much as 3 million won per month for a single ad.
[Won Min-kyung / Minister of Gender Equality and Family: Considering the unit price of banners, it is estimated that each illegal site generates at least 200 million won in criminal proceeds annually.]
Although the government has continuously demanded the deletion of videos from such illicit distribution sites, more than 70,000 videos remained undeleted last year alone. Even after site access was blocked, illegal operations continued for 3 to 7 years until operators were apprehended.
As the suffering of victims persists, the government has decided to push for legal amendments to punish the establishment of illegal sites as an independent crime.
Furthermore, considering that investigations are difficult because most servers are located overseas, the government announced it will review the introduction of an active defense system, namely "legal hacking."
Measures such as police directly accessing illegal sites to delete illicitly filmed content or completely shutting down the sites are under consideration.
[Yoo Jae-sung / Acting Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency: In cases where the location of the origin server is unknown or the suspect cannot be identified, execution must be carried out based on a warrant, and I believe cooperation with law enforcement agencies in other countries is also necessary.]
However, when engaging in legal hacking, the country where the server is located could perceive it as an attack or a violation of sovereignty. Therefore, the government is reviewing relevant regulations by referencing cases from Australia and the United Kingdom, which have previously adopted the system.
To cut off the funding sources of illegal sites, the government also plans to ban the placement of advertisements and suspend transactions for accounts used in operating the sites.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Reported by Jo Yoon-ha | Video reporting: Cho Choon-dong, Kim Seung-tae | Video editing: Yoon Tae-ho, Production: Produced by SBS Digital News)
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