Seoul will offer its patented artificial intelligence system, which automatically detects and reports sexually exploitative content online, free of charge to institutions across South Korea.The technology, first introduced in 2023, uses 24-hour real-time monitoring to automatically identify unlawful sexual images and videos on illicit websites and social media, request their removal and block re-uploads, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday.
City officials say the first transfer agreement has been signed, opening the door for central government agencies, local governments and even private companies working for the public interest to adopt the system. Non-profit organisations based abroad may also be able to use the technology, given the cross-border nature of digital sex crimes.
Seoul’s AI tool has been recognised at home and abroad, winning a top presidential award in a government innovation competition in 2023 and the UN Public Service Award the next year. It has also secured national patents and copyright registration.
Since the programme was completed in March 2023, and deployed at the Seoul Digital Sex Crime Support Centre, city authorities have added facial recognition technology and an automatic reporting system.
A police officer posts a notice showing how to detect illegal spycams inside a women’s restroom in Hanam, Gyeonggi province, on October 20, 2025. Photo: Hanam Police Station
The technology cuts average processing time from about three hours to just six minutes, making deletion roughly 30 times faster than manual searches and more than doubling detection accuracy. As a result, the number of deletion-support cases handled by the centre jumped from 2,509 in 2022 to 15,777 in 2025.
