Crimes involving the use of the internet are becoming bolder in their methods and becoming a serious problem. Debt reclamation, prostitution, assault, suicide, and even "contract murders" are claiming territory in cyberspace. A woman and her son went to a "murder café" looking for someone to kill the father of the family in order to get insurance money. One man tried to have someone murder his wife and children with the same goal in mind, and put together plans to have them hit by a car. Both were caught by police before anyone got killed; otherwise the conspiracies would have led to horrific murders.
It is shocking that in addition to people out to get insurance money there are extremely impulsive cases where, for example, someone wanted his mother killed or a woman wanted her elder sister killed because she does not like her. The impulsive and immoral desire to kill and crimes blinded by money blend easily on the internet. The administrator of one murder-for-hire site advertised for hired hands over the internet, and one university student even opened his own online contract murder club.
Criminal intent that would otherwise have a hard time going any further is becoming crime committed in actuality through the internet, and something needs to be done about it. Internet sites about contract murders can negatively affect the sentiments of youth in a negative way and even encourage copycat crimes. Internet crimes are called "faceless crimes" because it is hard to identify suspects, making them hard to police. The freedom of expression and privacy on the internet have to be protected, but within limits that do not damage that principle there needs to be a thorough system of surveillance for cyber crimes so as to prevent horrible crimes such as contract murders from getting a foothold on the internet. Portal sites and netizens need to be on the watch to make sure the internet is not used as a tool for crime, and they need to be committed to cyber ethics.
Since crimes using the internet ultimately begin in our twisted values and social reality, we should work to become a fair and communal society.
The Hankyoreh, 8 March 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
[Editorial] The Internet as Murder Weapon |
