South Korea said Wednesday that it will spend 2 billion won ($1.8 million) next year to develop technology that can detect and block obscene materials from Internet streaming websites and videos.

The Ministry of Science and ICT made the announcement as government officials and experts held a meeting and discussed ways to effectively deal with the online circulation of pornography, obscene and harmful materials.

The move comes after a series of so-called revenge porn incidents, in which people, mostly men, posted online sexually explicit videos or images taken with or without consent, to either shame or blackmail their partners after a breakup.

Government data showed that 711,434 complaints were made to the Korea Communications Standards Commission about illegal content, such as pornography or illegal gambling on portals or social media, between 2014 and July of this year.

The South Korean government has injected a total 740 million won since 2017 to detect such online harmful contents by utilizing artificial intelligence and big data technologies. (Yonhap)