'Online Grooming Safety App' Fails to Do Its Job ... Just One Case Reached Expert Counseling This Year

[Financial News] The government-created 'Online Grooming Safety App,' designed to help victims of online grooming, is drawing criticism for failing to do its job.
Through September this year, the app received four reports, and only one led to expert counseling. This contrasts with the 338 online grooming suspects arrested through undercover police investigations by August this year.
On the 22nd, according to documents submitted by the Korea Media and Communications Commission and the Korea Women's Human Rights Institute under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to Kim Sun-min, a Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker on the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, the Safety App received a total of 19 reports from 2024 through September 30 this year.
Of the 18 valid reports, excluding one report of financial fraud, the app's staff reached the person who filed the report in nine cases. In the other nine, the reporters did not respond, so the cases did not lead to counseling. During the same period, there were eight cases of expert counseling and two instances of assistance with removing content, but no referrals to investigative agencies. Of the four reports received this year, only one led to expert counseling.
The Safety App operates by emailing the reports submitted by victims to staff members. Its ability to provide counseling directly through the app or connect users with support organizations is limited. It is available only on the Google Play Store and ONE store, so iPhone users cannot use it.
The Safety App was initiated in 2023 by the then Korea Communications Commission in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the National Police Agency and others, and was developed by the Korea Communications Users Protection Association. It began trial operations in April 2024, but had only 1,758 downloads as of October 8 this year. Annual downloads fell from 1,104 in 2024 to 343 in 2025, with 311 so far this year.
The need to respond to online grooming cases is also evident in police investigations and counseling services. According to data released by the National Police Agency in September this year, police had arrested 338 online grooming suspects through undercover investigations by August. The figure reflects the expanded scope of investigations following the implementation last October of a provision penalizing attempted conversations for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
The Korea Women's Human Rights Institute's '2025 Annual Report of Support Centers for Child and Adolescent Victims of Sexual Exploitation' found that grooming victimization among users of support centers in 17 regions nationwide rose 28%, from 161 cases in 2024 to 206 in 2025.
The lack of clarity over which institution is responsible for operating and improving the app was also identified as a problem. The KMCC said it had agreed that the institute would be responsible for operating the app, but the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said the institute was a partner organization responsible only for counseling in reported victim cases. No separate budget was secured to upgrade or maintain the app. The KMCC said its budget request and proposal for the participatory budgeting program were not approved, so it is operating the app without separate funds for operations or maintenance.
The KMCC and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family signed a memorandum of understanding on January 23 this year to prevent digital sex crimes and support victims. Lawmaker Kim said that, given the agencies' commitment to work together, they should clarify who is responsible for operating the Safety App and how it will be improved.
Lawmaker Kim said, "Four reports this year and one case of expert counseling are the current state of the government's Safety App," adding, "The responsibility for operations and maintenance must be clarified, and the app should be assessed and improved to ensure it helps actual victims."


[email protected] Yoon Hong-jip Reporter