It is estimated that a single illegal filming distribution site generates up to over 1.2 billion won annually in criminal profits through banner advertisements and other means.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Korea Communications Commission, and the Korean National Police Agency released the results of an analysis based on 34,628 illegal filming distribution sites identified during the process of supporting victims of digital sex crimes over the past eight years, alongside 27 police investigations conducted over the past five years.

The analysis showed that out of the 34,628 illegal sites, 6,683 sites, or 19.3%, were active.

Among them, 3,832 sites were accessible via domestic networks.

Of the active illegal sites, 300 were operated in Korean.

Additionally, 1,316 sites were confirmed to have categories or bulletin boards related to videos of Koreans.

The number of videos related to Koreans uploaded on these illegal sites is estimated at 2.15 million.

In particular, as many as 385,416 videos related to Koreans were uploaded to a single site.

There were also cases where videos were posted containing information that could identify victims, such as their names, aliases, occupations, residential areas, and ages.

There were also instances where a single operator owned multiple illegal sites.

A total of 385 groups of illegal sites operated by the same individuals were detected, with the largest case showing a single operator managing 26 illegal sites.

These illegal sites relied primarily on banner advertisements as their source of revenue.

Among the 126 illegal sites apprehended by the police, the total revenue of 117 sites whose profits could be verified amounted to 30.4 billion won.

Considering that illegal sites posted an average of 34.7 banner advertisements and advertising unit prices ranged from 500,000 to 3 million won, it is estimated that a single illegal site generates up to 1.2492 billion won in illicit profits annually.

Some illegal sites continued to operate for three to seven years after their access was blocked on domestic networks following confirmation of their illegality, and before their operators were apprehended.

The daily average number of visitors to these illegal sites reached tens of thousands.

(Photo provided by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Yonhap News)