"Started to Make Money" Telegram 'n-bunbang' Victim Mockery Serious

"Voluntarily Sexualized?" Serious Secondary Harm
Expert: "It Is Violence Preventing Victims from Revealing Their Experiences"

On the afternoon of the 19th, Jo, the operator of the Telegram messenger 'Baksa Bang,' was seen coming out after a warrant hearing at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul. Jo is accused of threatening minors and others to film sexual exploitation materials and distributing them on Telegram. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and intern Yeonju Kim] "Most of the victims are abnormal kids who only look for high-paying part-time jobs. It's the victims' own fault for giving the blackmail material in the first place."

Recently, the 'Telegram Nth Room case' ('Nth Room case'), in which secret chat rooms were created on the messenger Telegram to share and sell illegal videos and other forms of female sexual exploitation, has sparked public outrage. However, some argue that the incident resulted from the victims' voluntary sex sales, raising concerns about secondary victimization.

A rapper caused controversy by emphasizing rational punishment related to the 'Nth Room case' on social networking services (SNS), claiming that the punishment could be harsher than the severity of the sex crime offenders' guilt.

On the 22nd, rapper Simba Jawadi posted on his Instagram account "The number of 260,000 people paying money and participating in sexual exploitation crimes was excessively exaggerated based on unfounded 'simple aggregation'."

He argued, "This is not only applied to the Doctor's Room and Nth Room but also means that in the distant future, if your son or younger sibling watches a porn video once, this case will become a precedent, and considering fairness, society will impose life imprisonment or the death penalty. Asking for harsher punishment just because I feel bad right now is a more serious problem."

Moreover, online remarks blaming the female victims for the incident or mocking all women have continued. Some point out that some underage victims were sexually exploited under the pretext of high-paying part-time jobs and question whether they voluntarily commodified their sexuality for money.

Some netizens responded, "Why blame only men when it started as a means to make money?", "The reality where all men must be potential perpetrators of sexual assault because of some men’s actions," "Not all 260,000 have the same level of guilt," and "Normal female students have nothing to worry about."

In response to such reactions, other netizens stated, "Are you calling them gold diggers even though the scale of the incident and the victims are clear?", "Isn't it adults' responsibility to stop underage victims from selling sex?", "How can we trust men when 260,000 users consumed sexual exploitation materials?", and "Only revealing identities is the answer," emphasizing the need to focus on the victimization.

Social outrage over the 'Nth Room case' led to petitions demanding a thorough investigation. On the 18th, a petition was posted on the Blue House National Petition site demanding the disclosure of the identities of all 260,000 members of the Nth Room. As of 1:30 PM on the 23rd, the petition had garnered over 2.2 million supporters.

The petitioner expressed frustration, saying, "Put the perpetrators who drove young students to hell on the photo line," and "Sound the alarm on distorted sexual values."

The petition received the highest number of endorsements ever due to a campaign encouraging agreement spread on SNS. From celebrities to non-celebrities, many shared anger over the 'Nth Room case' and focused on the fear the victims must have felt.

On the 22nd, rapper Simba Jawadi faced public backlash after stating on his Instagram account regarding the "Telegram Nth Room case" that "rational punishment is necessary." Photo by rapper Simba Jawadi, Instagram post capture

Regarding concerns about secondary victimization in the 'Nth Room case,' experts pointed out that it could lead the investigation in the wrong direction.

Jin-kyung Cho, director of the Teenage Women's Human Rights Center, said, "The 'voluntary coercion frame,' which views female victims as voluntarily becoming victims, hinders the progress of the case," adding, "At a time when we should focus on the victimization, forcing victims to prove the coerciveness of their victimization only silences them."

Cho emphasized, "For the case to be properly revealed, there must be many watchers who continuously pay attention," and "If there are many watchers, criminals will find it unsafe, so we must constantly monitor and observe the development of the investigation."

Kim Yeo-jin, director of the Korea Cyber Sexual Violence Counseling Center, stressed, "What we need to focus on now is the scale of the industry that commodifies women sexually to make money," and "We should focus on the fact that there were 260,000 users and view the case accordingly."

Regarding victim support, Kim explained, "Many women who suffer from cyber sexual violence blame themselves and feel guilty," but "Victims are victims. If they reach out, help will always be available. I hope more people realize that it is not the victim's fault."

Meanwhile, on the 19th, the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for Jo, a man in his 20s and the key figure known as 'Doctor' (a Telegram alias) in the 'Nth Room case,' on charges of violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse (production and distribution of obscene materials, etc.).

It is known that 74 women were sexually exploited by Jo, who was called 'slave,' and among them, 16 were minors.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency plans to hold a personal information disclosure review committee on the afternoon of the 24th to decide whether to disclose Jo's face, name, and other personal information. If Jo's identity is revealed, it will be the first case of identity disclosure based on the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, etc.