Flashing Illicit Videos in Plain Sight: The Reason These Sites Suck in Money

This is a website where illegally filmed videos are distributed and shared.

Access is possible without any special bypass procedures, and illegal footage of Koreans is categorized separately.

Another site is also operated in Korean and has a separate category for videos of Koreans.

According to government analysis, the number of illicit video sites that remain accessible reached 6,700.

Among them, about 1,300 sites are operated in Korean or feature Korea-related categories, and the number of Korea-related videos posted on them is estimated at approximately 2.15 million.

These sites make money through banner advertisements.

They generate advertising revenue by displaying gambling and prostitution ads on their homepages, and it was revealed that they receive 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 banner ad rates, it is estimated that each illegal site generates at least 200 million won in criminal proceeds annually.]

Although the government has continuously requested the removal of videos from such illegal distribution sites, more than 70,000 videos were not deleted last year alone, and even after site access was blocked, illegal operations continued for 3 to 7 years until the operators were apprehended.

As the suffering of victims continues, the government has decided to pursue a legal revision to punish the mere creation of illegal websites as an independent crime.

In addition, considering that investigations are difficult because most servers are located overseas, the government announced it will consider introducing an active defense system, namely "legal hacking."

Measures such as police directly accessing illegal sites to delete illicit footage or shutting down the sites altogether are also under review.

[Yoo Jae-sung / Acting Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency: In cases where the location of the original server is unknown or the suspect cannot be identified, execution must be carried out through a warrant, and cooperation with law enforcement agencies in other countries is also necessary, I believe.]

However, if legal hacking is undertaken, the country where the server is located might perceive it as an attack on its nation or an infringement of sovereignty, so the government is reviewing related regulations by referencing cases from Australia and the United Kingdom, which have previously introduced the system.

To cut off the financial lifelines of illegal sites, the government also plans to ban ad placements and pursue the suspension of transactions for accounts used in operating the sites.

(Reported by Cho Yun-ha | Produced by Lee Se-young | Video by Cho Choon-dong, Kim Seung-tae | Video Editing by Yoon Tae-ho | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.