Police Launch Investigation into 'Jakyungdan' Scarlet Letter...Suspected Violation of the Information and Communications Network Act

Police Chief Min Gap-ryong is speaking at the plaque ceremony of the Special Investigation Headquarters for Digital Sex Crimes held on the 25th at the Seoul Seodaemun-gu Police Agency North Building. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The police have launched a preliminary investigation into the Telegram group chat room 'Juhonggeulssi' administrators for distributing personal information.

On the 9th, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced that it is conducting a preliminary investigation into the 'Juhonggeulssi' chat room, which has been obtaining and publicly sharing personal information of individuals who purchased and distributed sexual exploitation materials on the messenger Telegram.

The police are investigating on the grounds that these individuals violated the Information and Communications Network Act by spreading criminal circumstances and personal information of hundreds of people involved in multiple sexual exploitation cases, including the so-called 'Nth Room' case, through the Telegram chat room.

Established in July last year, Juhonggeulssi has taken on the role of a 'vigilante group,' arbitrarily disclosing the personal information of men suspected of producing, purchasing, or possessing sexually exploitative obscene materials. Although this is a clear criminal act, it received positive evaluations following the publicization of the Nth Room case, supported by public opinion demanding severe punishment for perpetrators.

However, along with some administrators' past actions and side effects such as the disclosure of personal information of unrelated individuals, the evaluation has shifted toward criticism. There have also been claims that Juhonggeulssi exploited the weaknesses of perpetrators to commit sexual offenses.

The police are expanding the investigation, believing that multiple Telegram chat rooms with activities similar to Juhonggeulssi are being operated.

A Busan Police Agency official stated, "This case is one of the incidents assigned by the National Police Agency to local police agencies," adding, "We are monitoring the Juhonggeulssi Telegram chat room and others to determine whether any laws have been violated."