Gov't to get busy preventing youth crimes: Deepfakes, drugs and more

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Gov't to get busy preventing youth crimes: Deepfakes, drugs and more

Published: 29 May. 2025, 15:42 Updated: 30 May. 2025, 02:53

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Posters on measures to prevent deepfake crimes are pasted in front of the Women's Human Rights Institute of Korea in Jung District, central Seoul, on Nov. 6, 2024. [YONHAP]

Amid rising concerns of youth drug use and digital sex crimes, the Korean government unveiled on Thursday a sweeping three-year plan to tighten protections for minors, including stricter drug controls, enhanced digital crime prevention, harsher punishment for the distribution of illegal content and expanded preventive education.

Measures will be put in place to swiftly delete illegal deepfakes, and stronger punishments, including the confiscation of assets gained through illicit online activity, will be implemented.

Age verification to prevent minors from purchasing alcohol and tobacco at unmanned stores or online will also become more stringent.

The government announced the “5th Comprehensive Youth Protection Plan (2025–2027)” on Thursday, outlining these new preventive measures.

This plan, established every three years under the Youth Protection Act, was prepared through consultations with 18 related agencies and municipal governments, a report to the youth protection committee and deliberation by the 25th Youth Policy Committee.

First, the government will establish restrictions on the prescription of narcotics to minors. It will also newly establish legal grounds to punish those who lure or encourage minors to take narcotics.

A group of university students hold a protest calling for better measures against deepfake crimes in front of Sejong Arts Center in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Dec. 17, 2024. [YONHAP]

An amendment to the Narcotics Control Act containing these provisions will be implemented in July.

System improvements will also be pursued to strengthen punishment for distributing drug-related information online. Monitoring of illegal drug sales and misuse will be strengthened, and information on drug distribution will be collected and analyzed in real-time.

Drug prevention education targeting youth will be diversified, and close supervision will be provided for those on probation for drug offenses.

To eradicate the growing problem of youth gambling, surveillance and reporting systems such as automated capture of illegal gambling sites will be enhanced.

A person holds up a mobile phone in this stock image. [JOONGANG ILBO]

Measures will be prepared to quickly suspend payments from bank accounts used in online gambling, and punishment will be strengthened for those who gamble with minors or exploit them in gambling crimes.

Crackdowns on illegal gambling game establishments such as adult PC cafes will be intensified, and a legal revision will be promoted to clearly classify places like hold'em pubs that encourage gambling as establishments in which the presence and employment of minors is prohibited.

If a victim requests a takedown of explicit content such as deepfakes, platform operators will be required to block it first and then request a Korea Communications Standards Commission review to determine whether it is illegal.

Given the speed with which deepfakes can spread, a 24-hour deadline for takedowns is under consideration.

Bundles of cocaine confiscated through a joint operation between the Korea Customs Service and the Coast Guard are seen on April 2. [JOONGANG ILBO]

In addition, punishment for perpetrators will be strengthened by establishing regulations to confiscate assets and profit gained through digital sex crimes.

Guidelines will also be created to restrict obscene conversations or the provision of illegal information when using generative AI.

Plans are also in place to establish management measures for media platforms, including verifying user age and strengthening operator responsibilities for social networking services and short-form videos.

Checks will be conducted on whether youth protection obligations are being followed in “random chat applications,” which have been misused as a channel for conditional meetings and the distribution of illegal information.

The government is also considering legislating an “eraser service,” which would assist in deleting or privatizing online posts containing personal information uploaded carelessly during childhood.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]