korea is moving to expand a Seoul-built artificial intelligence system that monitors the internet around the clock to detect unlawful sexual images and videos, request removals, and block re-uploads. The Seoul Metropolitan Government said the first free technology transfer agreement is set to begin March 3, with the program intended to broaden access for institutions beyond the capital. City officials framed the move as a public-interest push meant to deliver faster, more consistent victim support wherever the system is adopted.
What is being rolled out now
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will distribute its “Digital Sex Crime AI Deletion Support” technology free of charge, starting with a first transfer agreement. the agreement has been signed, opening a path for central government agencies, local governments, and private companies working for the public interest to adopt the system. Officials also said nonprofit organizations based abroad may be able to use the technology, citing the cross-border nature of digital sex crimes.
The system is designed for 24-hour real-time monitoring, automatically detecting illegal sexual content across illicit websites and social networking services, then moving quickly through removal requests and steps meant to prevent redistribution. Seoul said the technology has secured national patents and copyright registration, and has been recognized with top awards in a government innovation competition in 2023 and the U. N. Public Service Award the next year.
How the system works, and what changed after deployment
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. Seoul also said that in 2024 it added face recognition and age prediction deletion support technology for children and adolescents, and that in 2025 it additionally established an AI automatic reporting system that automates the process from detection to reporting.
Seoul said the system reduces average processing time from about three hours to six minutes—roughly 30 times faster than manual searches—and more than doubles detection accuracy. The city also said the AI can identify new illegal websites that humans cannot find, increasing the number of harmful videos discovered on newly created sites.
The city said it is now also possible to detect deepfake videos. that previously victims needed to possess the original video to find identical copies, but the AI can identify and detect duplicates through three types of analysis—video, audio, and text—even without the original.
Immediate reactions from officials and frontline impact
“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 Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Women and Family Policy Office.
Seoul said the system also helps protect staff by blurring harmful images and taking over repetitive monitoring work, easing the psychological burden on workers who previously had to review abusive content frame by frame. The city added that organizations outside Seoul still have counselors manually detecting harmful videos, and said broader access to automation is a key reason for expanding distribution.
Seoul also said it expects free distribution of the system will produce budget savings of approximately 180 million won per institution that adopts it.
Quick context
Seoul’s AI deletion support technology has been operated at the Seoul Digital Sex Crime Support Center since its completion in March 2023. After the introduction of AI technology, the center’s deletion-support caseload rose from 2, 509 cases in 2022 to 15, 777 cases in 2025.
What’s next
In the near term, the focus will be on the first free transfer agreement beginning March 3 and on how quickly additional institutions adopt the tool for public-interest use. Seoul said the distribution model is designed to be broadly available without limits to specific institutions or regions, and officials have indicated that cross-border use is also under consideration. For korea, the next developments will hinge on how central agencies, local governments, and eligible partners integrate the system’s 24-hour monitoring, reporting automation, and re-upload blocking into day-to-day victim support operations.
