아동음란물 소지자의 처벌에 대한 연구

A Study on the Penalties for Possessing Child Pornography

The possession of child pornography has become one of main issues because the investigations of child-sex offenders revealed that child-sex offenders stored lots of child pornography and watched them before or after they committed sex offenses against children. The Korean National Police Agency prosecuted 1,411 cases in 2012 and 2,654 cases in 2013 in child pornography crackdown. There have been differences of opinions on the penalties for possessing child pornography. This research analyzed the penalties for possessing child pornography with moral panic model. We surveyed public perceptions on the penalties for possessing child pornography and investigators’ perceptions on the issue. The results indicated that public insisted that the penalties for possessing child pornography should be strengthened while investigators reported that the current penalties for possessing child pornography are appropriate. While these findings contribute to our understanding of the penalties for possessing child pornography in Korea, further research is needed to develop more appropriate policies on child pornography.