U.S. 'DISAPPOINTED' OVER EXTRADITION REFUSAL

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The U.S. judicial authorities have expressed disappointment over South Korea's refusal to extradite the operator of the world's largest child porn website Son Jong-woo. The U.S. investigators vowed to continue their investigation into child porn perpetrators.

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U.S. judicial authorities blasted a South Korean court for turning down their request to extradite Son Jong-woo, the operator of the world's largest child porn site. In its reply to KBS, America's Justice Department said it was "disappointed" by the decision. A statement issued by Michael Sherwin, the Acting U.S. attorney in Washington reads: "We are disappointed by the court's denial of extradition in this case against one of the most dangerous child sexual exploitation offenders in the world, whose actions deeply impacted citizens of the United States." It's the first time the U.S. government expressed its stance on the matter since the court issued a verdict on Son. Despite the court's decision, Sherwin gave credit to the South Korean Justice Ministry for its efforts so far. The acting U.S. attorney vowed to fight against online crimes targeting children through international cooperation. Sherwin's remarks are construed to represent his determination to continue investigating online crimes including child exploitation. The reaction of the U.S. judicial authorities is similar to that of overseas media outlets that criticized the South Korean court's decision. The New York Times pointed out Americans who downloaded child porn content from Welcome to Video were sentenced to up to 15 years in jail, while Son Jong-woo has been released in just one and a half years. The BBC criticized the South Korean court by highlighting that the youngest victim was just six months old. In August 2018, the U.S. Federal Grand Jury indicted Son on nine charges for distributing child porn materials. He underwent an extradition examination following the U.S. Justice Department's request in April 2019. On July 6 2020, the Seoul High Court denied the request, and Son was released.