War Declared Against Cyber Crime in S. Korea

Law-enforcement authorities in South Korea have declared an all-out war against Internet- related crimes, which have been on a rapid increase as of late.

The prosecution said yesterday that it has decided to launch a harsh crackdown on web sites used as hotbeds of various crimes.

Accordingly, the prosecution will establish an ``Internet crime center'' under the wing of the computer investigation units of the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office (SPPO) and Seoul District Prosecutor's Office.

``The center will head the stepped-up crackdown on various cyber crimes involving suicide, lewd materials, gambling and explosives, as well as hacking, computer viruses, privacy infringement and e-commerce fraud,'' said a SPPO spokesman.

The prosecution estimates that there are as many as 200,000 crime-related web sites in Korea, and is poised to impose strict legal punishment on service providers upon detecting irregularities.

It is also seeking international cooperation in investigating business frauds and online distribution of obscene materials, such as fabricated nude pictures of famous local entertainers, because most service providers are operating out of foreign countries.

In particular, the prosecution and the police plan to make concerted efforts to uproot so-called suicide sites, as they are emerging as a serious social problem.

Since a suicide site was reportedly found to have played a contributing role in the death of two young students last December, similar incidents have occurred throughout the nation.

It is difficult to close down these sites because they are cleverly disguised as sites where people who have considered committing suicide can receive counseling and console one another, he added.

Law enforcement authorities are pushing ahead with investigations into posted messages encouraging suicide by tracing senders, and will ask the Information and Technology Ministry to shut down sites that are proven to be problematic.

Still, experts point out that once these kinds of sites are created, it is almost impossible to prevent their spread considering the borderless characteristics of the Internet. They say the government's measures should be focused on prevention through education in ethics, along with relentless crackdowns.










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