South Korean man detained for sexually inappropriate conduct in Metaverse

A man in his 30s from South Korea was recently given a sentence of four years in prison for generating and storing sexually exploitative content involving minors he attracted on the metaverse.

According to the reports by the local media, the man, whose identity has not been made public, had coerced victims under the age of 18 to record and send photographs and videos of their bodies between the months of December 2021 and March 2022.

On a South Korean metaverse platform, where the offender employed an avatar to falsify his age and offer gifts to lure in victims, who were underage at the time.

In addition to serving time in prison, the offender must also participate in a treatment program for sexual offenders for a total of 80 hours. Moreover, he is given a seven-year ban from working in any capacity that involved either teenagers or people with disabilities. The court stated:

“The level of the crime in targeting the minor victims who do not have an established conception of sexuality and lack the ability to protect themselves, to satisfy their distorted sexual desire, is extremely bad. It is reasonable to hold them accountable.”

The offender’s targeting of youngsters in Metaverse was the basis for the sentencing, and it was also noted that the sexually exploitative content was not circulated or made for money.

Proposals to criminalize unethical offenses in metaverse

A proposal to criminalize sexual offenses in the metaverse was led by Shin Hyun-young, a politician for the opposition Democratic Party, in June. Moreover, it is interesting to note that the science ministry of South Korea released ethical guidelines for the metaverse last month to safeguard minors.

While North Korea is known for its major cybercriminal gangs that never miss a chance to steal investors funds, South Korea has tightened its fist to punish individuals or groups involved in any illicit activities in the country.

Notably, as TheCoinRise reported, South Korea authorities have detained 16 suspects in connection to foreign transactions and financial scams.