South Korean parents to be alerted when their child is being cyberbullied

South Korea is launching an alert service that will notify parent’s when their kid receives instant-messages containing swear words or other inappropriate words, the Wall Street Journal reports. The purpose of the service is to counter an increasing occurrence of verbal abuse and cyber-bullying in one of the world’s most wired countries. The alert service is currently under development by the Korea Communications Commission and will be rolled out in July.

South Korea wants to make it harder for bullies to harass their schoolmates with instant-messaging services. In July, the government will initiate an alert service that will notify parents when their child receives a text message containing inappropriate words. The Ministry of Education says South Korean kids today face increasing amounts of verbal abuse and cyberbullying. It added that those involved in school violence and the use of bad language will be “severely punished.” New types of abuse have surfaced as well, the ministry said. “Cyber imprisonment” describes a scenario where kids invite a target victim into a chat room and harass them. South Korea is one of the most wired countries in the world, and the ministry hinted that status has some side effects.