Founder of n번방 'GodGod'... Mega Cloud as the Smoking Gun

Last Trace of Link Sharing in Mid-January
Attention on Whether the Connection Will Be Found

[Asia Economy Reporters Seungyoon Song and Jeongyun Lee] 'GodGod,' the originator of the Telegram sexual exploitation chat rooms known as the 'Nth Room.' Despite law enforcement agencies' efforts to apprehend him, his whereabouts remain unknown. Amid this, the overseas cloud service 'MEGA Cloud' has emerged as the smoking gun (decisive evidence) in the pursuit of GodGod's capture.

GodGod was known as one of the three main operators of the Nth Room, alongside Jo Joo-bin (24), who ran the 'Doctor's Room,' and Jeon Mo (38), known as 'Watchman.' In particular, the 'Nth Room' originally created by GodGod is considered the prototype for the numerous similar Nth Rooms that followed.

In September last year, GodGod suddenly disappeared after leaving a message in a Telegram chat room saying he was "preparing for the college entrance exam." He also deleted the Telegram account he had been using. To avoid being traced, he accepted cultural gift certificates instead of virtual currency, which leaves traces. Until just before going into hiding, he reportedly used the New Zealand-based cloud service MEGA Cloud to share sexually exploitative materials. Besides GodGod, many users of sexual exploitation pornography chat rooms used this cloud service to share or download such materials. Because the service is headquartered overseas, it is perceived to offer relatively strong security and anonymity.

Having been in hiding for over seven months, GodGod suddenly left MEGA Cloud links for some users in January. A Telegram user who was in the chat room with GodGod at the time testified, "Around January 21, GodGod logged into Telegram and shared MEGA Cloud links. I don't know the purpose, but that was the last time he accessed Telegram." If true, the MEGA Cloud links posted then would be the last trace left by GodGod.

MEGA Cloud is reportedly cooperating with Korean police investigations. However, some cautiously suggest that the police may have already missed the connection to track GodGod's whereabouts. Due to the nature of cloud services, there are limitations on the duration and capacity for storing log records.

An IT industry insider who requested anonymity explained, "Typically, when accessing sensitive information like personal data, logs are stored for a set period, but it is difficult to store cloud access logs for a long time. Since creating storage space for logs incurs costs, most companies do not keep log records indefinitely." While the police have not disclosed detailed investigation progress regarding tracking GodGod, they have mentioned that "the investigation is narrowing down the scope." The investigation related to GodGod is being handled by the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency.

Meanwhile, as of the 22nd, the police have arrested 340 people and detained 51 in connection with digital sex crime cases, including the Nth Room. In relation to the Doctor's Room case, six additional suspects have been identified and booked. The police also confirmed that the 'Pikachu Room,' which shared sexually exploitative materials posted in the Doctor's Room, had about 80 paid members, and they are in the process of identifying them.