It's not a new trend. Censorship is common throughout Korean media and has been that way for a long time. They air a lot of American forensic dramas like NCIS, and the autopsy scenes are always blurred out. Even with foreign movies that have an over 19 rating, if there's any nudity, it often gets blurred out. And this extends beyond dramas. A quick Google search can show you just how much the government controls Korean television, music, movies, and the internet. A lot of the blame has to go to the conservative former president Lee Myung Bak for enforcing stricter censorship laws, and knowing what I know about current President Park Geun Hye, it doesn't look like censorship is going to loosen up any time soon.
ETA: I think that, particularly when it comes to Korean dramas, Korean censorship is pretty hypocritical, but that's a discussion for another thread maybe.
