The Real Mastermind Behind the N Room Was a Youth... Even a 12-Year-Old Elementary Student Involved

[Children in Crisis] ① Distorted Sexual Attitudes of Teenagers

SNS Digital Sex Crime Crackdown... 32% of Arrested Suspects Are Teenagers
Distorted Sexual Awareness Shared Online Through Deviant Acts, Body Shaming, and Synthetic Images of Acquaintances
Risk of Becoming Another Crime Target

Teenagers Are in Danger. A significant number of perpetrators and victims of online sex crimes occurring almost daily are minors. The severity of juvenile crime is worsening day by day. Children leave home to form groups, which are being identified as hotbeds of crime. This article diagnoses the seriousness of youth crime in our society and seeks solutions.

Kang Hoon, known as 'Buddha,' the co-operator of the Telegram 'Doctor's Room' along with Jo Joo-bin, is being transferred to the prosecution from Jongno Police Station in Seoul on the 17th, moving to the escort vehicle. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Byungdon Yoo, Seungyoon Song] The Telegram 'Nth Room case,' involving the production and distribution of sexual exploitation videos of women including minors, largely stems from distorted sexual awareness among adolescents.

One of the main suspects in this case, 'Buddha' Kang Hoon, is 18 years old. Another accomplice, Army Private 'Igya' Lee Wonho (19), has just passed the minor age. Bae Mo, known as 'Loli Captain Taebeom,' who is on trial for producing and distributing sexually exploitative materials by imitating the Nth Room and running the 'Second Nth Room,' is 19 years old. Many others involved in this case were middle and high school students.

According to the police's announcement on the crackdown status of digital sex crimes using SNS such as Telegram, as of the 15th, out of 536 suspects arrested, 173 were teenagers, accounting for 32% of the total. This is only about 40 fewer than the largest age group, those in their 20s (218). Among the 77 suspects arrested for producing, distributing, and selling, 27% (21) were teenagers. Among them, five were caught producing illegal sexual exploitation materials. Among suspects who distributed obscene materials using the Discord messenger, there was even a 12-year-old elementary school student.

Many juvenile crimes, especially sex crimes committed by teenagers, occur online, including on SNS. Since this generation is familiar with digital devices and the internet, the stage of crime has shifted from the real world to the online world. As the online space is used as a crime stage, new types of transformed crimes continue to emerge.

Illegal acts online often become targets of other crimes. Sexual cultures mainly shared among young people, such as 'Iltal-gye' (deviant accounts), 'Momsah' (body photo) sales, and acquaintance synthesis, are illegal acts themselves but also become targets for criminals. In fact, suspects in the Nth Room case mainly targeted those engaged in such activities online.

Crimes that start online eventually transfer to the real world. The main suspects in the Nth Room case, 'Doctor' Jo Joo-bin (24) and 'GodGod' Moon Hyung-wook (24), expanded their crimes offline by instructing Nth Room participants to sexually assault victims beyond their Telegram offenses.

Professor Gong Jeongsik of the Department of Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University explained, "Adolescents familiar with virtual spaces are applying things that can only be realized there to the real world," adding, "This trend of crime itself becoming more intelligent is likely to deepen as digital technology advances."

On the 24th of last month, the Ministry of Education announced that, with cooperation from investigative agencies, it would identify whether any students were involved among perpetrators participating in digital sex crimes such as the Nth Room case and consider measures such as education, counseling, and disciplinary actions for those involved. Additionally, they announced plans to comprehensively and systematically revise school sex education and distribute gender sensitivity education programs and materials to schools.