Following criticism over inappropriate pictograms depicting crime types on the National Police Agency's Cyber Bureau reporting system (ECRM), the agency has immediately initiated improvement work.

The controversial images are part of the guidance screen featuring crime-type pictograms designed to help citizens easily file cases online.

Criticism arose because the 'prostitution' category used an image of a man and a woman embracing, while the 'extortion' category used an image specifying the victim as a female, which critics argued reinforces gender stereotypes.

Netizens who saw the postings voiced complaints, saying, "It clearly reveals the perspective from which the police view prostitution," and "Why is a man and woman hugging portrayed as prostitution?"

There were also ongoing criticisms that the overall delivery was poor, such as 'drugs' being illustrated like an unidentified clump of dust.

Choi Sungho, president of the Korea Public Design Association, pointed out, "Public pictograms must secure universality that people of all ages and genders, as well as foreigners, can understand," adding, "The National Police Agency's prostitution pictogram fails to deliver information immediately."

Kim Hong-miri, an associate research fellow at the Korean Women's Development Institute, also emphasized, "The prostitution pictogram expresses it like a romance without conveying the meaning of exploitation," and "Pictograms used by state agencies must accurately convey the meaning of crime and be reviewed for any discriminatory elements."

As the criticism spread, the National Police Agency acknowledged that it failed to closely screen out the inappropriate aspects during the 2020 overhaul.

An official from the National Police Agency stated, "It seems problematic both in failing to clearly convey the crime type and in terms of gender concepts," adding, "We will change or replace the problematic pictograms with text and re-examine the system as a whole."

(Photo: Capture from the National Police Agency Cyber Bureau reporting system (ECRM) website, Yonhap News)