"Stop the Devil's Life".. Jo Joo-bin Transferred to Prosecution Today... What Is the Future Investigation Direction? (Comprehensive Report 2)

Production and Sale of Sexual Exploitation Material Referred to Prosecution
"Apologies to All Victims Including Son Seok-hee, Kim Woong, and Yoon Jang-hyun"

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 Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seungyun Song, Bonggi Kim] Jo Joo-bin, who was active under the name 'Doctor' on Telegram, was handed over to the prosecution on the 25th. He was arrested on charges of threatening multiple women, including minors, producing sexual exploitation materials, and selling them. The police sent Jo to the prosecution with an indictment opinion on charges including violation of the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse.

Jo, who had been detained at the Seoul Jongno Police Station detention center, left the police station around 8 a.m. that day, saying, "Thank you very much for stopping the devilish life that could not be stopped." As the first sex offender to have his identity publicly disclosed, he stood at the photo line and continued with seemingly pre-prepared remarks. Jo said, "I sincerely apologize to President Sohn Seok-hee (JTBC), reporter Kim Woong, former Gwangju Mayor Yoon Jang-hyun, and all others who have been harmed by me." Although reporters bombarded him with questions such as whether he admits the charges and if he has any intention to apologize to the victims, he kept his eyes forward and did not respond.

Regarding Jo mentioning unexpected figures like President Sohn, the police explained, "(Jo) may be a victim of a fraud case," and "Based on Jo Joo-bin's statements, some victims are being contacted and are in the verification stage." This means they are not suspected of trading sexual exploitation materials with Jo or joining as members. Meanwhile, Jo appeared that day with a neck cast and a bandage on his head, due to a self-harm attempt during the police investigation after his arrest on the 16th.

Jo lured victims with bait such as high-paying part-time jobs, obtained nude photos showing their faces, then threatened to expose them, forcing the victims to film sexual exploitation materials. These videos were distributed in a Telegram chatroom called 'Doctor's Room' that he operated. So far, 126 people related to the Telegram case, including Jo, have been arrested, with 19 of them detained. Police Chief Min Gap-ryong stated, "We will thoroughly investigate all participants, including the arrested operator Jo Joo-bin, accomplices, video producers, and those who possessed or distributed sexual exploitation videos, by deploying all police capabilities."

Jo, handed over to the prosecution, met with a human rights supervisor and a chief prosecutor at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office before being detained in a detention center. The prosecution plans to conduct additional investigations on Jo for up to 20 days and then indict him. The prosecution and police are tracking additional criminal proceeds beyond the 130 million won found during the search of Jo's residence, and plan to arrest and prove the guilt of other members who distributed or possessed sexual exploitation materials obtained from the Doctor's Room. Additional investigations will also be conducted on 'Watchman,' the former operator of the n-room case, who has already been indicted and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison.

The Ministry of Justice also promised strict punishment for the n-room case. The Ministry stated the day before, "For those actively involved, we will thoroughly investigate the crime period, organization, command system, role distribution, and operational structure, and consider requesting the maximum sentence according to the degree of involvement," adding, "If digital sex crimes such as the n-room were organized with a command and control system, we will consider applying the 'Crime Syndicate Organization Act' (Article 114 of the Criminal Act)."