The Korean president said that operators of a site who had fled overseas had been arrested
President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a Cabinet meeting held at the Blue House on May 12, 2026. (Yonhap)
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday that there had been additional arrests of individuals who established and operated websites with sexually exploitative material in 2022 and fled overseas, vowing to track down and punish offenders “to the last.”In an Instagram message posted that afternoon, Lee said that nine of 15 operator-level individuals were identified and eight were arrested, and 204 users were also arrested.Stressing that this was “just the beginning,” he wrote, “We intend to continue to the last in tracking down the high-level managers and remaining others who have not yet been arrested, as well as tracing the criminal earnings.”“If they believed they could evade legal judgment by hiding overseas, this was a clear miscalculation,” he added.Lee stressed that online sexual violence was “a grave crime that tramples on human dignity and an utterly unacceptable social evil.”“I have a stern warning for everyone who is involved in the production, circulation and consumption of illegal sexually exploitative materials at this moment: Do not think you can hide behind anonymity. Digital traces always remain,” he stressed.“It is only a matter of time. There is no way to escape responsibility,” he added.Lee emphasized that viewing illegal content is also a definite crime.”“Crimes continue to occur as long as there is demand,” he stressed, warning that even mere users of such services “will pay the price, without exception.”By Choi Ha-yan, staff reporterPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
