[Exclusive] After N-bunbang Scandal, Flood of Requests to Erase Telegram Traces

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] As the reality of the 'Telegram Nth Room' has been revealed, sparking nationwide outrage, digital undertakers who erase online traces are also suffering from 'impossible request calls.' This is because those who watched illegal sexual exploitation videos through Telegram are afraid their identities will be exposed and are requesting to have their traces erased.

According to the industry on the 25th, after Jo Joo-bin, known as 'Doctor,' was arrested and the police announced plans to investigate those possessing, distributing, and participating in the videos, inquiries to erase Telegram traces have increased over the past week.

Park Hyung-jin, CEO of EasyComs and a digital undertaker, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy, "Requests to delete Telegram traces, which we had never received before, have been coming continuously since three days ago." He added, "There are inquiries ranging from whether it is possible to erase the record of entering the Nth Room after friends pooled 1.5 million won to pay, to whether records of downloading child and adolescent pornography or illegal filming materials can be deleted."

Jo Joo-bin, the operator of the 'Doctor's Room' who threatened dozens of women including minors on the internet messenger Telegram and forced them to film obscene materials which were then distributed, is coming out of Jongno Police Station in Seoul on the morning of the 25th to be sent to the prosecution. / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

Industry insiders unanimously agree that legitimate companies do not accept requests from purchasers or related parties of such videos. This is because there is a risk of becoming accomplices by helping to destroy evidence of crimes. Ahn Jae-won, CEO of Clean Data, said, "We do not proceed with such work. It is right for any reasonable company not to do it," and drew a line by adding, "Due to the recent increase in inquiries, we have taken down Telegram-related advertisements from our site."

According to the related industry, it is possible to erase records remaining inside an individual's smartphone by repeatedly resetting it, but it is impossible to erase records stored on Telegram servers. The recent popularity of KakaoTalk open chat rooms claiming to 'erase Telegram records' is widely believed to be a scam.

Ahn explained, "The very idea of erasing Telegram records is unbelievable," adding, "Even if a subscriber withdraws, depending on the policy, log information and activity details are stored on the company’s servers. This is not something an ordinary company can control."

As the issue of the Nth Room grows, illegal filming rooms and pornographic sites that were thriving are also becoming cautious. Related Telegram rooms have rapidly decreased. CEO Park said, "Recently, Telegram withdrawals have really increased, and about 70% of illegal filming rooms have disappeared," adding, "Also, a 1GB file called 'Doctor's Data Collection' was uploaded and continuously shared on pornographic sites until two days ago, but now they have labeled it as 'Prohibited Material,' possibly because even they are scared," conveying the atmosphere.