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A total of 1,860 cases of digital sex crimes have occurred in elementary, middle and high schools nationwide over the past five years, government data showed Tuesday.

Of them, 218 happened in 2018, 464 in 2019, 427 in 2020, 461 in 2021 and 290 as of August 2022, according to a report from the education ministry submitted to independent lawmaker Min Hyung-bae.

By type, illegal filming was reported the most at 30.4 percent, followed by sexual bullying online at 29.8 percent and blackmail to distribute sexual materials at 23.7 percent.

Schools also reported five cases of sexual assault last year and seven cases as of August this year, according to the data.

"The Sindang Station murder case that recently shocked our society also started from acts of illicit filming and threatening to distribute the material," Min said, calling on education authorities to more actively respond to digital sex offenses.

On Sept. 14, Jeon Joo-hwan, a 31-year-old employee of the Seoul Metro, was apprehended at Sindang Station on Line No. 2 after stabbing a female colleague in her 20s to death in the subway station's ladies' room. The killing took place one day before a court was set to sentence him on charges of stalking her.

Jeon was later found to have been convicted of distributing pornographic material in a separate case. (Yonhap)