Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
14.4% of middle, high schoolers have inadvertently seen sexually explicit images of minors online: report
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By Jung Min-ho
More than 14 percent of middle and high school students say that they have inadvertently been exposed to sexually explicit videos or photos of minors online, according to a new survey.
A report on their perceptions about the sexual exploitation of minors, released Thursday by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, shows that 14.4 percent of 4,757 respondents said that they have encountered such illegal content while browsing the internet.
Most, or 68.3 percent, of them said they saw such content on social media platforms.
Asked whether they have been asked by someone to share sexually explicit images of themselves, 3.9 percent said that they have had at least one such experience.
When asked whether they have been blackmailed after sharing such images, 0.6 percent said that they have.
Of them, 24.7 percent said they received a demand to meet in person, while 23.9 percent said they were told to share additional images; others said they were told to send suggestive images of their friends among other demands.
When asked if they have had sexually exploitative images of them, either real or deepfake, shared online by another party without their agreement, 1.1 percent said that they have had such an experience.
Of those who answered yes, 46.1 percent said they did nothing in response. Among those who sought help, most turned to their peers or other students rather than seeking assistance from police or family members.