[Asia Economy Reporters Yoo Byung-don and Lee Jung-yoon] "Selling Nth Room materials. Please contact me via Telegram."
This is a post on the largest Korean community site within the encrypted network 'Dark Web,' which is inaccessible to general internet users. Although Jo Joo-bin (24), who is accused of threatening women to produce and distribute sexually exploitative obscene materials, has been arrested, posts buying and selling the types of sexual exploitation materials he distributed continue to appear steadily. More thorough police investigations seem necessary.
On the 25th, when the reporter checked one community within the Dark Web, posts offering to sell Nth Room videos, which are sexually exploitative obscene materials, were easily found. Sellers wrote their Telegram IDs and explained that transactions were possible if messaged. When the reporter messaged one seller, they proposed trading Nth Room materials from rooms 7 to 8 for 50,000 won in the cryptocurrency 'Monero' (approximately 60,000 won in cash). To prove they had the videos, the seller even sent two sample clips. The seller set the Telegram chat room so that the conversation could not be captured and deleted the chat content within 24 hours to prepare for any unforeseen situations.
Another seller requested to trade the entire video for a cultural gift certificate worth 50,000 won. This seller explained that they had already downloaded the materials before the Nth Room and 'Doctor's Room' were shut down, reassuring that "the Dark Web is harder to trace than Telegram or Discord, and as long as neither the seller nor buyer reports to the police, the chance of being caught is very low."
As the police expand investigations into the distribution of sexually exploitative obscene materials, video sellers are increasingly hiding in more difficult-to-trace underground areas. The police announced they will also strengthen investigations into the Dark Web. A police official said, "We are conducting investigations into Telegram and the Dark Web through international cooperation."
However, sellers are becoming more sophisticated by evading police investigations through routing networks across multiple countries or using specific internet browsers that bypass IP addresses, making investigations expected to face difficulties.
Meanwhile, on the 25th, the National Police Agency established and began operating the 'Digital Sex Crime Special Investigation Headquarters.' The special crackdown on the four major cyber sexual violence distribution networks, originally scheduled to end in late June, will be extended until the end of the year. The four major distribution networks refer to social networking services (SNS), the Dark Web, webhard, and obscene sites. To investigate overseas servers, international cooperation with foreign investigative agencies such as the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO/Interpol), the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and global IT companies like Google will also be strengthened.
Jo Joo-bin, the main perpetrator of the Nth Room case who produced and sold illegal sexual exploitation videos on Telegram, is heading to a transport vehicle on the morning of the 25th at Jongno Police Station in Seoul to be transferred to the prosecution. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@
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