Open Decision Ledger · Criminal law
Link posts as distribution and mere access as not possession
Supreme Court, Oct. 12, 2023, 2023Do5757 (judgment)
Case name: 성폭력범죄의처벌등에관한특례법위반(카메라등이용촬영·반포등)·아동·청소년의성보호에관한법률위반(성착취물제작·배포등)·아동·청소년의성보호에관한법률위반(성착취물소지등)·정보통신망이용촉진및정보보호등에관한법률위반·(음란물유포)[「아동·청소년의 성보호에 관한 법률」 제11조 제3항의 아동·청소년성착취물 ‘배포’ 및 같은 조 제5항의 아동·청소년성착취물 ‘소지’ 여부가 문제된 사건]
Official text on the National Law Information Center
Question
Where a defendant posted a link to a Telegram channel holding child and adolescent sexual exploitation material and separately kept his connection to channels opened by others, did that amount to distributing the material under Article 11(3) and to possessing it under Article 11(5) of the Act on the Protection of Children and Adolescents?
Holding
Posting a link may satisfy the distribution or public display element where the whole course of conduct, judged on the actor's intention, the character of the website he runs, the concrete link technique, and the character of the other website and the way it displayed the material, goes beyond merely introducing or connecting and actually creates a state in which unspecified persons can reach the material directly through the link without substantial restriction. Possession means placing the material in a state under one's own control and sustaining that control; where a person accessed material stored on a server he does not control but did not go on to download it or otherwise bring it under actual control, he is, absent special circumstances, not to be treated as possessing it.
Summary of the holding, verbatim
링크의 게시를 포함한 일련의 행위가 불특정 또는 다수인에게 다른 웹사이트 등을 단순히 소개·연결하는 정도를 넘어 링크를 이용하여 별다른 제한 없이 아동·청소년성착취물에 바로 접할 수 있는 상태를 실제로 조성한다면, 이는 아동·청소년성착취물을 직접 ‘배포’하거나 ‘공연히 전시’한 것과 실질적으로 다를 바 없다고 평가할 수 있으므로, 위와 같은 행위는 전체적으로 보아 아동·청소년성착취물을 배포하거나 공연히 전시한다는 구성요건을 충족한다.
Unofficial English translation
If a series of acts including the posting of a link actually creates a state in which an unspecified or large number of persons may use the link to directly access the sexual exploitation material of children and youth without any particular restriction, going beyond merely introducing or connecting another website, etc. to an unspecified or large number of persons, such conduct may be evaluated as not being substantially different from directly ‘distributing’ or ‘publicly displaying’ the sexual exploitation material of children and youth; therefore, such conduct, viewed as a whole, satisfies the constituent elements of distributing or publicly displaying sexual exploitation material of children and youth.
Disposition
Reversed and remanded Stated in the decision
원심판결을 파기하고, 사건을 서울고등법원에 환송한다.
Unofficial English translation
The judgment of the court below is reversed, and the case is remanded to the Seoul High Court.
Form of the test
Elements stated Stated in the decision
여기서 아동·청소년성착취물의 ‘배포’란 아동·청소년성착취물을 불특정 또는 다수인에게 교부하는 것을 의미하고, ‘공연히 전시’하는 행위란 불특정 또는 다수인이 실제로 아동·청소년성착취물을 인식할 수 있는 상태에 두는 것을 의미한다.
Unofficial English translation
Here, the ‘distribution’ of sexual exploitation material of children and youth means delivering sexual exploitation material of children and youth to an unspecified or large number of persons, and the act of ‘publicly displaying’ means placing the sexual exploitation material of children and youth in a state in which an unspecified or large number of persons may actually perceive it.
Factors
- 행위자의 의사, 그 행위자가 운영하는 웹사이트의 성격 및 사용된 링크기술의 구체적인 방식
- 불특정 또는 다수인에게 다른 웹사이트 등을 단순히 소개·연결하는 정도를 넘어
- 링크를 이용하여 별다른 제한 없이 아동·청소년성착취물에 바로 접할 수 있는 상태를 실제로 조성한다면
- 자기가 지배할 수 있는 상태에 두고 지배관계를 지속시키는 행위를 말한다
- 다운로드하는 등 실제로 지배할 수 있는 상태로 나아가지는 않았다면 특별한 사정이 없는 한
Unofficial English translation
• the intent of the actor, the nature of the website operated by that actor, and the specific manner of the link technology used
• going beyond merely introducing or connecting another website, etc. to an unspecified or large number of persons
• if a state is actually created in which an unspecified or large number of persons may use the link to directly access the sexual exploitation material of children and youth without any particular restriction
• refers to the act of placing it in a state under one’s control and maintaining the relationship of control
• if one has not proceeded to a state in which one could actually exercise control over it, such as by downloading it, absent special circumstances
Relation to precedent
Follows earlier decisions Stated in the decision
대법원 2009. 5. 14. 선고 2008도10914 판결(공2009상, 925)
Unofficial English translation
Supreme Court Decision 2008Do10914 pronounced on May 14, 2009 (Gong 2009 Sang, 925)
Decisions referred to
[1] 대법원 2003. 7. 8. 선고 2001도1335 판결(공2003하, 1739), 대법원 2009. 5. 14. 선고 2008도10914 판결(공2009상, 925), 대법원 2019. 7. 25. 선고 2019도5283 판결(공2019하, 1701) / [2] 대법원 2023. 3. 16. 선고 2022도15319 판결, 대법원 2023. 6. 29. 선고 2022도6278 판결(공2023하, 1407)
Burden of proof
Not addressed Not in the decision
Open question and revisit condition
How substantial must a remaining step or restriction be before using the link no longer creates direct access to the material without substantial restriction?
The retrial judgment of the Seoul High Court on remand, in so far as it applies the distribution and possession tests to these 500 items, would require this entry to be read again. So would an amendment to Article 11(3) or Article 11(5) of the Act on the Protection of Children and Adolescents, or a later Supreme Court decision refining what counts as actual control or as direct access through a link.
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 8 (open question and revisit condition).
Axis 8 (Open question and revisit condition): Primary “How substantial must a remaining step or restriction be before using the link no longer creates direct access to the material without substantial restriction?” vs Independent “Under what circumstances would control over remotely stored material amount to possession without downloading it?”
The primary asks how large a remaining step or restriction must be before link access counts as unrestricted access, while the independent asks when control over remotely stored material would amount to possession without downloading.
링크의 게시를 포함한 일련의 행위가 불특정 또는 다수인에게 다른 웹사이트 등을 단순히 소개·연결하는 정도를 넘어 링크를 이용하여 별다른 제한 없이 아동·청소년성착취물에 바로 접할 수 있는 상태를 실제로 조성한다면, 이는 아동·청소년성착취물을 직접 ‘배포’하거나 ‘공연히 전시’한 것과 실질적으로 다를 바 없다고 평가할 수 있으므로, 위와 같은 행위는 전체적으로 보아 아동·청소년성착취물을 배포하거나 공연히 전시한다는 구성요건을 충족한다.Raw 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 Seoul High Court, in its judgment of 19 April 2023 (Chuncheon) 2022No171, convicted the defendant on the charges at issue. It held that posting the link to the channel holding 113 items of such material in the chatroom he ran was no different from posting the material itself and so was distribution, and that maintaining his membership of seven channels and chatrooms opened by others, together with the two channels he opened, kept the 500 items in his actual possession or control.
Supreme Court standard: The Supreme Court found no error on the link posting: the defendant, running a chatroom where such material was posted, let its many members reach the stored material through the link without substantial restriction, which is distribution taken as a whole, though some of the court's stated reasons were not entirely apt. It also found no error as to the 20 items in the two channels he opened, since placing them in a channel under his control and keeping the connection sustained control. It reversed on the 480 items in the seven channels opened by others, because those were opened and run by unknown persons and he neither transmitted nor downloaded the material, with no special circumstance supporting control. Because that part and the remaining convictions were sentenced as concurrence offences in a single sentence, the whole judgment was reversed and remanded to the Seoul High Court.
Distinguishing conditions
- A link that merely introduces or connects another website, without actually creating a state of direct access to the material without substantial restriction.
- Access to material stored on a server the person does not control, where he did not download or transmit it and no special circumstance shows actual control.
- Material posted on channels the defendant himself opened and controls, which the Court treated as placing it under his control and sustaining that control.
Record verification notes
For a link, gather the actor's intention, the character of the site he runs, the concrete link technique, the character of the site linked to and the way it displayed the material, and ask whether the viewer could reach the files directly without any particular restriction. For possession, ask who opened and controlled each channel and whether the material was transmitted, downloaded or otherwise brought under control, since mere membership and connection state did not suffice here. Note also that the reversal of the whole judgment rests on the concurrence-offence single sentence, so a conviction the Supreme Court accepted may still fall with the rest.
From the official text
Points at issue
[1] 아동·청소년의 성보호에 관한 법률 제11조 제3항에서 정한 아동·청소년성착취물의 ‘배포’ 및 ‘공연히 전시’하는 행위의 의미 / 자신의 웹사이트에 아동·청소년성착취물이 저장된 다른 웹사이트로 연결되는 링크를 게시하여 불특정 또는 다수인이 링크를 이용하여 별다른 제한 없이 아동·청소년성착취물에 바로 접할 수 있는 상태를 실제로 조성한 경우, 위 조항에서 정한 아동·청소년성착취물을 배포하거나 공연히 전시한다는 구성요건을 충족하는지 여부(적극) [2] 아동·청소년의 성보호에 관한 법률 제11조 제5항에서 정한 아동·청소년성착취물 ‘소지’의 의미 및 피고인이 자신이 지배하지 않는 서버 등에 저장된 아동·청소년성착취물에 접근하였으나 위 성착취물을 다운로드하는 등 실제로 지배할 수 있는 상태로 나아가지는 않은 경우, 이를 아동·청소년성착취물을 ‘소지’한 것으로 평가할 수 있는지 여부(원칙적 소극)
Unofficial English translation
[1] Meaning of ‘distribution’ and ‘public display’ of sexual exploitation material of children and youth as provided in Article 11 (3) of the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sexual Abuse / Where a person has posted on his or her own website a link leading to another website on which sexual exploitation material of children and youth is stored, thereby actually creating a state in which an unspecified or large number of persons may use the link to directly access the sexual exploitation material of children and youth without any particular restriction, whether such conduct satisfies the constituent elements of distributing or publicly displaying sexual exploitation material of children and youth as prescribed in the above provision (affirmative) [2] Meaning of ‘possession’ of sexual exploitation material of children and youth as provided in Article 11 (5) of the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sexual Abuse, and where the defendant accessed sexual exploitation material of children and youth stored on a server, etc. not under his or her control but did not proceed to a state in which he or she could actually exercise control over such exploitation material, such as by downloading it, whether such conduct may be evaluated as ‘possession’ of sexual exploitation material of children and youth (in principle, negative)
Summary of the holding
[1] 아동·청소년의 성보호에 관한 법률 제11조 제3항은 "아동·청소년성착취물을 배포·제공하거나 이를 목적으로 광고·소개하거나 공연히 전시 또는 상영한 자는 3년 이상의 징역에 처한다."라고 규정하고 있다. 여기서 아동·청소년성착취물의 ‘배포’란 아동·청소년성착취물을 불특정 또는 다수인에게 교부하는 것을 의미하고, ‘공연히 전시’하는 행위란 불특정 또는 다수인이 실제로 아동·청소년성착취물을 인식할 수 있는 상태에 두는 것을 의미한다. 자신의 웹사이트에 아동·청소년성착취물이 저장된 다른 웹사이트로 연결되는 링크를 해 놓는 행위자의 의사, 그 행위자가 운영하는 웹사이트의 성격 및 사용된 링크기술의 구체적인 방식, 아동·청소년성착취물이 담겨져 있는 다른 웹사이트의 성격 및 다른 웹사이트 등이 아동·청소년성착취물을 실제로 전시한 방법 등 제반 사정을 종합하여 볼 때, 링크의 게시를 포함한 일련의 행위가 불특정 또는 다수인에게 다른 웹사이트 등을 단순히 소개·연결하는 정도를 넘어 링크를 이용하여 별다른 제한 없이 아동·청소년성착취물에 바로 접할 수 있는 상태를 실제로 조성한다면, 이는 아동·청소년성착취물을 직접 ‘배포’하거나 ‘공연히 전시’한 것과 실질적으로 다를 바 없다고 평가할 수 있으므로, 위와 같은 행위는 전체적으로 보아 아동·청소년성착취물을 배포하거나 공연히 전시한다는 구성요건을 충족한다. [2] 아동·청소년의 성보호에 관한 법률 제11조 제5항은 "아동·청소년성착취물을 구입하거나 아동·청소년성착취물임을 알면서 이를 소지·시청한 자는 1년 이상의 징역에 처한다."라고 규정하고 있다. 여기서 ‘소지’란 아동·청소년성착취물을 자기가 지배할 수 있는 상태에 두고 지배관계를 지속시키는 행위를 말한다. 아동·청소년성착취물 파일을 구입하여 시청할 수 있는 상태 또는 접근할 수 있는 상태만으로 곧바로 이를 소지로 보는 것은 소지에 대한 문언 해석의 한계를 넘어서는 것이어서 허용될 수 없으므로, 피고인이 자신이 지배하지 않는 서버 등에 저장된 아동·청소년성착취물에 접근하였지만 위 성착취물을 다운로드하는 등 실제로 지배할 수 있는 상태로 나아가지는 않았다면 특별한 사정이 없는 한 아동·청소년성착취물을 ‘소지’한 것으로 평가하기는 어렵다.
Order
원심판결을 파기하고, 사건을 서울고등법원에 환송한다.
Unofficial English translation
The judgment of the court below is reversed, and the case is remanded to the Seoul High Court.
Provisions referred to
[1] 아동·청소년의 성보호에 관한 법률 제11조 제3항 [2] 아동·청소년의 성보호에 관한 법률 제11조 제5항
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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