By Lee Kyung-min



Police are increasing efforts to shut down Soranet, the largest porn site with more than 1 million users.



National Police Agency (NPA) Commissioner General Kang Sin-myeong recently said during a meeting at the National Assembly that officers are investigating the website and its operators.



Police are focusing on not only on the manufacturing, storing and spreading of obscene content online but also on the operators' suspected involvement in, or willful negligence of users' in prostitution and other illegal acts for the past 16 years since the site was set up in 1999.



"We are having talks with our U.S. counterparts to swiftly shut down the website which has its server in the U.S.," Kang said. "The two sides have reached an agreement in principle that the website should be closed."



So far, police have taken a lukewarm attitude toward calls for cracking down on the website, saying it had no jurisdiction over a website using overseas servers.



The police move follows increasing criticism about the website. More than 70,000 people have signed an online petition demanding that the website be shut down and that the operators and members be punished.



Rep. Jin Sun-mi of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) said that Soranet has become the center of immoral sexual transactions and the authorities have failed to take proper actions to ban them.



"Members of the website degrade women and share photos of women's private parts taken with hidden cameras," Jin said.



According to Jin, users there encourage one another to take photos of women's body parts using hidden cameras; openly share ideas and outline plans of how to rape women; and sometimes details on how to carry out such criminal acts. They also share information on the sex trade.



Police have booked eight members without physical detention for uploading a large amount of pornographic video footage since they launched their investigation of the website in May. Of the eight, a man surnamed Ahn, 37, allegedly posted 600 videos.



Kang said they are now targeting the operators, and will increase efforts to crack down on similar website operators as well.



However, doubt remains on whether the crackdown will be successful.



In 2004, police conducted a massive crackdown on the website and booked 63 people involved in operating the site. But they failed to ban the activities completely because the operators transferred the content after changing website addresses, using servers located in foreign countries to avoid the crackdown.



"Even if the police could shut down Soranet, there will come a second and then a third Soranet, because there will always be demand for such content," a blogger wrote.



On Thursday, an online memo presumably written by Soranet operators was shared on many websites. They said the police investigation and shutdown attempt is "an anachronism to block the rights of adults to watch whatever content they want in a liberal, democratic society."



The memo said the operators abide by the U.S. law. "The opposition movement against Soranet, driven by some feminists, among others, regards all of the activities of the members of Soranet as subhuman. We urge Soranet members to claim their rights as adults."



