Open Decision Ledger · Criminal law
Distribution purpose as an element of possession under the former youth protection law
Supreme Court, May 30, 2024, 2021Do6801 (judgment)
Case name: 아동·청소년의성보호에관한법률위반(음란물제작·배포등)[인정된죄명:아동·청소년의성보호에관한법률위반(음란물소지)]·사기[피고인이 아동·청소년이용음란물을 판매하는 것처럼 기망할 목적으로 보관한 행위가 영리 목적의 아동·청소년이용음란물 소지에 해당하는지 여부가 문제된 사건]
Official text on the National Law Information Center
Question
Under Article 11(2) of the former Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse, does 'possession' mean only possession aimed at selling, lending, distributing or providing, so that the offence requires both a profit purpose and a purpose to distribute?
Holding
It does. Reading the wording and structure of each paragraph of Article 11, the legislative purpose and protected legal interest, the legislative history and the systematic interpretation of related provisions together, the Court held that Article 11(2) regulates the supply of such materials and punishes distribution, so the 'possession' it names must be possession aimed at a distribution act. 'For that purpose' therefore means 'in order to carry out a distribution act for profit', and the offence of possession requires both a profit purpose and a purpose to distribute.
Summary of the holding, verbatim
구 청소년성보호법 제11조 제2항은 아동·청소년이용음란물의 공급을 규제하는 측면에서 배포 등 유통행위를 처벌하는 규정으로서 위 조항이 처벌대상으로 정하고 있는 ‘소지’도 배포 등 유통행위를 목적으로 하는 소지로 보아야 한다.
Unofficial English translation
Article 11 (2) of the former Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles against Sexual Abuse is a provision that punishes acts of distribution or other acts of circulation from the perspective of regulating the supply of child or juvenile pornography, and the "possession" prescribed as the target of punishment in the above provision must also be regarded as possession for the purpose of acts of distribution or other acts of circulation.
Disposition
Dismissed Stated in the decision
상고를 모두 기각한다.
Unofficial English translation
All appeals are dismissed.
Form of the test
Elements stated Stated in the decision
위 조항의 소지죄가 성립하기 위해서는 영리 목적뿐만 아니라 ‘배포 등 행위의 목적’이 있어야 한다.
Unofficial English translation
In order for the offense of possession under the above provision to be established, there must be not only a purpose of gain but also a "purpose of an act of distribution or the like."
Factors
- 구 청소년성보호법 제11조가 정한 각 조항의 문언과 형식, 입법 취지 및 보호법익, 입법 연혁, 관련 규정의 체계적 해석 등을 종합하면
- 아동·청소년이용음란물의 공급을 규제하는 측면에서 배포 등 유통행위를 처벌하는 규정으로서
- 위 조항이 처벌대상으로 정하고 있는 ‘소지’도 배포 등 유통행위를 목적으로 하는 소지로 보아야 한다
- ‘이를 목적으로’란 ‘영리를 목적으로 배포 등 행위를 하기 위하여’를 의미한다고 할 것이므로
- 위 조항의 소지죄가 성립하기 위해서는 영리 목적뿐만 아니라 ‘배포 등 행위의 목적’이 있어야 한다
Unofficial English translation
• Taking into comprehensive consideration the wording and form of each provision prescribed in Article 11 of the former Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles against Sexual Abuse, the legislative purpose and protected legal interest, the legislative history, the systematic interpretation of relevant provisions, and the like,
• as a provision that punishes acts of distribution or other acts of circulation from the perspective of regulating the supply of child or juvenile pornography,
• the "possession" prescribed as the target of punishment in the above provision must also be regarded as possession for the purpose of acts of distribution or other acts of circulation
• "for such purpose" should be understood to mean "in order to commit an act of distribution or the like for the purpose of gain", and therefore
• in order for the offense of possession under the above provision to be established, there must be not only a purpose of gain but also a "purpose of an act of distribution or the like"
Relation to precedent
States a new standard Read from the decision
구 청소년성보호법 제11조 제2항은 아동·청소년이용음란물의 공급을 규제하는 측면에서 배포 등 유통행위를 처벌하는 규정으로서
Unofficial English translation
Article 11 (2) of the former Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles against Sexual Abuse, as a provision that punishes acts of distribution or other acts of circulation from the perspective of regulating the supply of child or juvenile pornography,
Decisions referred to
해당 본문 참조
Burden of proof
Not addressed Not in the decision
Open question and revisit condition
What evidence shows a purpose to sell, lend, distribute or provide where the only fact offered is that the possessor kept the materials to deceive unknown persons into believing that he would sell them?
A later Supreme Court decision construing the same provision as amended by Law No. 17338 of 2 June 2020 (this decision construed the version before that amendment), or extending the distribution-purpose requirement to 'carrying or transporting' in Article 11(2), would require this entry to be read again. An amendment to Article 11 of the Act would do the same.
Cross-family AI independent reading & axis check
7 of 8 axes matched GPT-6 Astra (OpenAI, codex CLI) · 2026-10-25
A reader from another model family (GPT-6 Astra), given the official text but not the primary reading, agreed on 7 of the 8 axes; the readings differed on axis 6 (relation to precedent).
Axis 6 (Relation to precedent): Primary “States a new standard” vs Independent “Cannot be determined”
The primary reading treats the holding as setting a new interpretive standard for possession, while the independent reading could not confirm precedent status from the given text, so it reads the precedent relation as unconfirmed.
구 청소년성보호법 제11조 제2항은 아동·청소년이용음란물의 공급을 규제하는 측면에서 배포 등 유통행위를 처벌하는 규정으로서Raw responses and comparison record: Protocol · Blind readings (JSONL) · Axis comparison (JSONL) · SHA-256 (JSON)
Lower-court contrast & scope of application
Lower-court reading vs. Supreme Court holding
Lower-court context: The Uijeongbu District Court, in its judgment of 13 May 2021 (2020No2310), examined the primary charge that the defendant committed the offence of possessing child or juvenile pornographic materials for profit by keeping them in order to deceive unknown persons into believing that he would sell them to them. It held that there was no proof of that offence and acquitted him of it in the reasoning, and convicted him instead on the alternative possession charge added at the trial.
Supreme Court standard: The Supreme Court found no error. It held that the reasoning below neither breached the laws of logic and experience nor misapprehended the meaning of 'for that purpose' in Article 11(2), and it held that Supreme Court Decision 2020Do8978, cited by the prosecution, concerned the meaning of 'publicly exhibit' and so was not apt for possession. It also found no error in the fraud and entrapment investigation law applied to the defendant's conviction, noted that the prosecution had pleaded no specific ground against the convictions, and dismissed all the appeals.
Distinguishing conditions
- Materials kept for the possessor's own use, with no purpose to sell, lend, distribute or provide them, since the 'possession' covered is possession aimed at a distribution act.
- Possession aimed at distribution but not for profit, since the Court read 'for that purpose' as requiring a distribution act carried out for profit.
- A charge under Article 11(2) as amended by Law No. 17338 of 2 June 2020, since the Court construed the former version of the Act.
Record verification notes
Before relying on this entry, confirm which version of the Act governs the conduct and match each possession count to the distribution act and the profit purpose said to lie behind it, since the Court required both. Keep the reasoned acquittal of the primary charge in view: it rested on lack of proof, and the decision does not set out the evidence the court below weighed. Note also that the Court refused to apply its 2020Do8978 decision on public exhibition to possession.
From the official text
Points at issue
구 아동·청소년의 성보호에 관한 법률 제11조 제2항이 처벌대상으로 정하고 있는 ‘소지’의 의미 / 위 조항에서 정한 소지죄가 성립하기 위해서는 영리 목적뿐만 아니라 ‘판매·대여·배포·제공 행위의 목적’이 있어야 하는지 여부(적극)
Unofficial English translation
Meaning of "possession" prescribed as the target of punishment in Article 11 (2) of the former Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles against Sexual Abuse / Whether, in order for the offense of possession under the above provision to be established, there must be not only a purpose of gain but also a "purpose of an act of sale, rental, distribution, or provision" (affirmative)
Summary of the holding
구 아동·청소년의 성보호에 관한 법률(2020. 6. 2. 법률 제17338호로 개정되기 전의 것, 이하 ‘구 청소년성보호법’이라 한다) 제11조 제2항은 ‘영리를 목적으로 아동·청소년이용음란물을 판매·대여·배포·제공(이하 ‘배포 등’이라 한다)하거나 이를 목적으로 소지·운반하거나 공연히 전시 또는 상영한 자는 10년 이하의 징역에 처한다.’고 규정하여, 영리를 목적으로 아동·청소년이용음란물을 배포하는 등의 행위를 하거나 ‘이를 목적으로’ 소지하는 행위를 금지하고 있다. 위 조항이 포함된 구 청소년성보호법 제11조가 정한 각 조항의 문언과 형식, 입법 취지 및 보호법익, 입법 연혁, 관련 규정의 체계적 해석 등을 종합하면, 구 청소년성보호법 제11조 제2항은 아동·청소년이용음란물의 공급을 규제하는 측면에서 배포 등 유통행위를 처벌하는 규정으로서 위 조항이 처벌대상으로 정하고 있는 ‘소지’도 배포 등 유통행위를 목적으로 하는 소지로 보아야 한다. 따라서 위 조항이 정한 ‘이를 목적으로’란 ‘영리를 목적으로 배포 등 행위를 하기 위하여’를 의미한다고 할 것이므로, 위 조항의 소지죄가 성립하기 위해서는 영리 목적뿐만 아니라 ‘배포 등 행위의 목적’이 있어야 한다.
Order
상고를 모두 기각한다.
Unofficial English translation
All appeals are dismissed.
Provisions referred to
구 아동·청소년의 성보호에 관한 법률(2020. 6. 2. 법률 제17338호로 개정되기 전의 것) 제11조
Read 2026-10-25 · Cross-read 2026-10-25. All quotes matched against the official text. The Chinese-character placeholders the court used for anonymised parties are given in their Korean readings, and parenthetical Chinese-character glosses are omitted.
Every entry is published only after all quotes have been matched character by character against the official text, and audited by an independent second reading from a different model family across all eight axes. Both agreed axes and text-grounded interpretive divergences are recorded openly. The ledger is a research record, not an assessment of the court or advice on any matter.
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