[Comprehensive] "Not a vicious child" Son Jung-woo's father submits son's complaint... Will US extradition be blocked?

"Our child did not commit murder," Son Jung-woo's father submits petition and national petition
"Crime committed during the process of saving money to move"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Son Jeong-woo (24), who operated the world's largest dark web site for child sexual exploitation materials, "Welcome to Video," and distributed thousands of child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials, has been sued by his father. The background of Son Jeong-woo's father suing his own son appears to be an attempt to prevent his son's extradition to the United States. If Son Jeong-woo is punished domestically for the crime of concealing criminal proceeds, the principle of double jeopardy may prevent his extradition to the U.S.

According to a JTBC report on the 14th, Son's father recently submitted a complaint to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office accusing his son of violating the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds. It is reported that in the complaint, he claimed that his son opened a cryptocurrency account and traded and concealed criminal proceeds without his consent.

Earlier, the Ministry of Justice applied the charge of "money laundering" to proceed with Son's extradition to the U.S. On the 4th, Son's father submitted a petition to the court stating that it would be harsh for Son to be extradited to the U.S. and tried again, as the punishment level in the U.S. is heavier than in Korea.

According to the U.S. Anti-Money Laundering Act, if found guilty, those laundering more than $500,000 can be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison, and those laundering less than $500,000 can be sentenced to up to 10 years.

Screen of a site displaying a closure message following the announcement of a joint dark web investigation involving 32 countries including South Korea and the United States. Photo by National Police Agency

On the other hand, in Korea, if found guilty of concealing criminal proceeds, the punishment is lower, with imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

Through the petition, Son's father pleaded, "Please let Son be punished in Korea." He said, "If he is extradited to the U.S., where the diet, language, and culture are different and where he would have to live in prisons that harshly treat sex offenders, it would be too harsh for him and the family," adding, "He was not originally a vicious person, so he would not be able to endure prison life."

He continued, "Even applying only money laundering and possession charges, it amounts to 50 years, and the trials in Korea are separate trials, so if several indictments are retroactively applied, it would be over 100 years. How could we send him to his death?" He added, "I think it is too excessive even from the perspective of protecting a citizen."

He also added, "This is a trial where law enforcement has ended, and sending a citizen to the U.S. just because the sentence is light does not comply with the principle of double jeopardy."

On the 4th, a petition was also posted on the Blue House National Petition website asking to prevent Son's extradition to the U.S., sparking controversy.

The petitioner, who introduced himself as Son's father, wrote a petition titled "Do not send dark web operator Son Jeong-woo, a citizen, to the U.S., and let him face other charges in Korea," stating, "(My son) started this to earn pocket money, and later committed crimes in the process of trying to save money to move to a bigger house because the family was living in a small rented place."

He added, "He is not inherently a bad child and has not committed crimes such as robbery, murder, or attempted rape," emphasizing, "This is not asking for leniency but asking that other charges be tried in Korea." The post was deleted after criticism arose.

Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Board capture

Son is accused of operating the "dark web" for about 2 years and 8 months from July 2015, providing child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials to about 4,000 people and collecting cryptocurrency worth about 400 million won.

A total of 8TB (terabytes) of pornographic material, about 200,000 items, were distributed on this site. There were also videos of sexual exploitation of infants as young as 6 months old, and on February 8, 2018, among the "top" search terms were "%2yo" (2 years old) and "%4yo" (4 years old), among others.

The court sentenced Son to 1 year and 6 months in prison last May for violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse (production and distribution of obscene materials), among other charges.

Son was scheduled to be released from Seoul Detention Center on the 27th of last month due to the expiration of his detention period. However, he was re-detained under an extradition arrest warrant. The Ministry of Justice received a request for extradition of Son from the U.S. Department of Justice around April last year and has been reviewing and negotiating the matter, deciding to proceed with the extradition process concerning the "international money laundering" part.

Son's extradition hearing will be held on the 19th at the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 20 (Presiding Judge Kang Young-soo). The decision on Son's extradition will be made within about two months after the final hearing.