Seoul unveils 24-hour AI system to combat digital sex crimes

A police officer posts a notice detailling how to detect illegal spycams inside a women’s restroom in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 20. Courtesy of Hanam Police Station

Seoul will offer its patented artificial intelligence (AI) system, which automatically detects and reports sexually exploitative content online, free of charge to institutions across Korea.

The technology, first introduced in 2023, uses 24-hour real-time monitoring to automatically identify unlawful sexual images and videos on illicit websites and social media, request their removal and block re-uploads, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Tuesday.

City officials said the first transfer agreement has been signed, opening the door for central government agencies, local governments and even private companies working for the public interest to adopt the system. Nonprofit organizations based abroad may also be able to use the technology, given the cross‑border nature of digital sex crimes, they added.

Seoul’s AI tool has been recognized at home and abroad, winning a top presidential award in a government innovation competition in 2023 and the U.N. Public Service Award the next year. It has also secured national patents and copyright registration. Since the program was completed in March 2023 and deployed at the Seoul Digital Sex Crime Support Center, city authorities have added facial recognition technology and an automatic reporting system.

The technology cuts average processing time from about three hours to just six minutes, making deletion roughly 30 times faster than manual searches and more than doubling detection accuracy. As a result, the number of deletion-support cases handled by the center jumped from 2,509 in 2022 to 15,777 in 2025. The AI now uncovers hidden and newly created illegal sites, deepfake videos and illegal footage that previously escaped notice or been uploaded again.

Officials note that the system also helps protect staff by blurring harmful images and taking over repetitive monitoring, easing the psychological burden on workers who previously had to review abusive content frame by frame.

“I hope that the free distribution of this digital sex crime AI deletion technology will enable victims anywhere in the country to receive swift, practical support at the same level,” said Ma Chae-sook, head of the city government’s women and family policy office.