"Disclosure of Personal Information of n번방 Suspects Possible" Legal Grounds Presented by Cho Kuk

Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] Former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk presented the legal basis for disclosing the identities of suspects involved in the so-called 'Telegram Nth Room' case, where minors and women were exploited sexually through the production and paid distribution of sexual exploitation materials via secret Telegram messenger rooms.

On the 23rd, Cho Kuk stated in a post on his Facebook, "There are two legal bases for disclosing suspects' faces and other personal information," adding, "The 'Nth Room case' is possible under Article 25, Paragraph 1 of the Special Act on Sexual Violence Crimes."

According to the provision of the Special Act on Sexual Violence Crimes cited by Cho Kuk, prosecutors and judicial police officers may disclose suspects' personal information such as face, name, and age when there is sufficient evidence to believe the suspect committed the crime, and when it is necessary solely for public interest purposes such as guaranteeing the public's right to know, preventing recidivism, and crime prevention.

Additionally, on the same day, Cho Kuk posted four items related to the 'Telegram Nth Room' case on his Facebook, including a briefing by Blue House spokesperson Kang Minseok regarding President Moon Jaein's directive to "severely punish the (Nth Room) perpetrators."

Meanwhile, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced in October last year, when investigations related to Cho Kuk were underway, that it would completely abolish public summons of suspects. At that time, both Cho Kuk and his wife, Professor Chung Kyungshim of Dongyang University, did not stand at the photo line during prosecution investigations.

There have been claims that it became difficult to put Nth Room suspects at the photo line because of Cho Kuk.

On the same day, Jung Wonseok, full-time spokesperson for the Future United Party's election committee, stated in a commentary, "It has become difficult to put suspects at the photo line because of the first beneficiary of the ban on the photo line, former Minister Cho Kuk, who abused justice to conceal his hypocrisy through the Human Rights Protection Investigation Rules," adding, "We must not forget that the beneficiaries of the abolition of the photo line were the hypocritical remnants, including Cho Kuk and his family, who used justice as a pretext."