Calculators & Self-ChecksProsecution Request Estimator
Distributing intimate images (including images filmed with consent): statutory penalty and likely requested sentence
The statutory penalty for Distributing intimate images (including images filmed with consent) and the likely handling of the case depending on your circumstances. The results are for reference only.
- Statutory penalty
- Up to 7 years in prison or a fine of up to KRW 50 million (3 years or more in prison for a fixed term if distributed online for profit)
- Legal basis
- Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, Article 14(2)
- Category
- Sex crimes · Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes
Calculate with your own circumstances
What the handling steps mean
- Detention considered · Detention (구속): being held in custody during the investigation and trial under a court warrant when there is a risk of fleeing or destroying evidence
- Formal trial · Formal trial (구공판): the prosecutor asks the court for a trial, and you stand before a judge in a courtroom
- Summary fine · Summary indictment (약식기소): a procedure in which a fine is set on the documents, without a trial in a courtroom
- Suspension of indictment possible · Suspension of indictment (기소유예): the wrongdoing is recognized, but the prosecutor takes various circumstances into account and closes the case without sending it to trial
- Referral to the Family Court possible · Domestic or juvenile protection case: instead of criminal punishment, the Family Court imposes protective dispositions such as counseling, a no-contact order or community service
Handling standards at a glance
Listed from heaviest to lightest. The actual decision depends on the results of the investigation and your circumstances.
Detention considered
- Likely requested sentence
- 2 years or more in prison
Formal trial (prison sentence requested)
- Likely requested sentence
- 1 year or more in prison
Formal trial (fine requested)
- Likely fine
- KRW 3 million or more
Notes
- Even if the person agreed to being filmed, spreading the images later without permission is punished. Spreading secretly filmed footage is treated much more heavily.
- After the 2018 and 2020 amendments, the statutory penalty for this type rose sharply (previously up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to KRW 5 million), so the actual handling may be heavier than this estimate.
Frequently asked questions
- Distributing intimate images (including images filmed with consent): what is the statutory penalty?
- Legal basis: Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, Article 14(2). Statutory penalty: Up to 7 years in prison or a fine of up to KRW 50 million (3 years or more in prison for a fixed term if distributed online for profit).
- Distributing intimate images (including images filmed with consent): how is the case usually handled?
- Depending on the circumstances, it may be handled as follows: Detention considered, Formal trial (prison sentence requested), Formal trial (fine requested). Enter your circumstances in the calculator above to see which one applies.
Other crimes in the same category
This is only an estimate based on how investigative agencies usually handle cases. The actual decision and request depend on the facts of the case, such as a settlement, prior convictions and how the crime happened, and on the judgment of the prosecutor in charge; the final sentence is decided by the court. If you are about to be questioned, do not rely on this result alone and talk to a lawyer first.
Want to look at your own case more closely?
Send us a message about your situation. A lawyer will review it and reply.
© 2026 JISAN LAW. The question structure, the organisation of the criteria, the result wording and the data on this page are works and a database created by JISAN LAW. Copying, distributing or modifying them, reusing them on other websites or services, or collecting them automatically (scraping) without permission is prohibited. Violations may lead to civil and criminal liability under the Korean Copyright Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act.