The Constitutional Court found that the penalty provisions under the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sex Offenses do not violate the Constitution, saying there is a rational basis for imposing heavy sentences on violators.
On the 24th, the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the penalty provisions as constitutional in a petition filed by a defendant identified as A, who was indicted and is on trial for violating the youth sex protection law.
From July to Aug. 2020, A uploaded 82 comic files featuring characters who are children or youths engaging in sexual intercourse or other sexual acts to an online site from A's home. The purpose was to obtain points for uploading the files and convert them into cash to earn revenue. Also from July to Sept. the same year, A downloaded 13 such comic files from a file-sharing site and stored them on a laptop hard drive.
Article 11(2) of the youth sex protection law provides that distributing child or youth sexual exploitation material for profit is punishable by imprisonment for five years or more, and paragraph (5) provides that possession of child or youth sexual exploitation material is punishable by imprisonment for one year or more.
The Jeju District Court, which was hearing the case, accepted A's application and referred the two provisions for constitutional review, citing significant doubts as to whether the legislative purpose of protecting children and youths from potential sex crimes could justify heavy sentences.
In response, the Constitutional Court said, "Sexual exploitation material depicting images or characters that can be clearly recognized as children or youths engaging in sexual intercourse or other sexual acts fosters distorted perceptions of sex and abnormal values among viewers," adding, "Sustained exposure can lead to sex crimes against children and youths."
Regarding for-profit distribution of virtual-image child or youth sexual exploitation material, the Constitutional Court said, "There is a need to prevent the vast negative ripple effects of distribution," and found a rational basis for the statutory minimum sentence of five years in prison. As for possession, it said, "Because replication and distribution are easy, there is a high likelihood of re-proliferation," and found a rational basis for the statutory minimum sentence of one year in prison.