S.Korea court rejects U.S. extradition request for child porn website owner
6/7/2020 12:26
A South Korean court on Monday
refused an extradition request by U.S. law enforcement
authorities for a man convicted of running a South Korea-based
dark web child pornography site that sold videos for digital
cash around the world.
The man, Son Jong-woo, the site's operator, completed an
18-month sentence for violating South Korean child protection
and information laws in April but has remained in custody after
he was also indicted on U.S. federal charges in Washington.
The Seoul High Court said in its ruling that it had refused
the extradition request because sending him to the United States
could hamper South Korean investigations into sexually
exploitive content, Yonhap news agency reported.
The court said the ruling should not be interpreted as
exonerating Son, and that he should actively cooperate with
investigators and face proper punishment, according to Yonhap.
Reuters was no able to find contact information for Son's
lawyer.
Officials said last year they had arrested at least 338
people in 12 countries linked to the network, which they
described as one of the largest child pornography operations
they had encountered.
Called Welcome To Video, the website relied on the bitcoin
cryptocurrency to sell access to 250,000 videos depicting child
sexual abuse, authorities said, including footage of extremely
young children being raped. Its upload page specifically stated,
“Do not upload adult porn”.
Son's 18-month sentence contrasted with several 15-year
sentences handed out to other people convicted in the United
States in the case, and led to efforts in South Korea to impose
stricter laws and tougher penalties for child pornography
offences.
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