Seoul:The number of undercover investigations carried out by the police in South Korea has increased significantly this year, more than tripling compared to the previous year. This rise comes as the country continues to tackle digital sex crimes, which frequently involve the use of deepfake technology.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the National Office of Investigation under the Korean National Police Agency reported conducting 598 undercover investigations from January to August this year. This is a substantial increase from the 179 cases during the same period last year.
The police began implementing these undercover operations in 2021 following the "Nth room" case, a notorious incident where underage girls were coerced into performing obscene acts on camera, with the footage being distributed in paid online chatrooms. Since the introduction of these measures, a total of 1,503 undercover investigations have been conducted through the end of August, leading to the apprehension of 2,873 suspects, 164 of whom were formally arrested.
In the first eight months of this year alone, 338 suspects were apprehended through undercover operations for engaging in conversations with children and adolescents for sexual exploitation purposes, with six formal arrests made. The police noted an expansion in the scope of investigations where officers pose as children or teenagers, following the enactment of a law last October that criminalizes attempts to converse with minors for sexual exploitation.
Additionally, the government expanded the scope of these undercover operations in June last year to also include cases involving adult victims.