A decade after the shutdown of Soranet – a sprawling online hub for secretly filmed and non-consensual sexual videos that became a symbol of South Korea’s digital sex-crime crisis – the country is still struggling to stamp out similar networks and copycat sites that have emerged in its wake.
Their prevalence reflects the difficulties of deterring such illegal activities, policing the online space and changing societal attitudes towards women.
Last month, a man was detained over an alleged Soranet offshoot that investigators said shared more than 2,000 sexually explicit videos, illegally filmed material and deepfakes.
The site also allegedly recruited participants for partner-swapping sessions that were later filmed and uploaded, while members shared photographs of family members and acquaintances so users could rate their bodies.