Jo Joo-bin Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison... Will Advanced Digital Sex Crimes Like Video Distribution Threats and Body Cam Phishing Disappear?

On the 26th, Jo Joo-bin, the operator of the Telegram group known as 'Baksa Bang,' who was prosecuted for organizing a criminal group that threatened women and produced and distributed sexually exploitative materials, was sentenced to 40 years in prison. The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 30 (Chief Judge Lee Hyun-woo) sentenced Jo Joo-bin to 40 years in prison and also ordered him to wear an electronic ankle bracelet for 30 years.

Severe sentences are being handed down one after another to accomplices of the 'Telegram N-bang case' and perpetrators of similar derivative crimes. Additionally, the Ministry of Justice is discussing the establishment of a dedicated bureau to prevent digital sex crimes using digital technology and is working to prevent recurrence through legal amendments. On the 25th, President Moon Jae-in also urged a firm response to crimes against women.

However, despite these efforts to prevent recurrence and the establishment of systems to support victims, digital sex crimes based on IT technology are increasingly evolving and cleverly evading legal nets. New types of crimes that are difficult to detect are emerging, and the number of victims continues to rise.

Recently, illegally recorded videos taken at entertainment establishments and new types of illegal sexually exploitative materials have been circulating on SNS platforms other than Telegram. According to the Women's Emergency Call Gyeonggi 1366 Center, among the 40,631 counseling cases requesting emergency rescue and protection last year, there were 1,790 cases of sexual violence, 453 cases of prostitution, and 193 newly added digital sex crime consultations.

Moreover, as new SNS and applications continue to emerge, crimes using body-cam phishing and distribution of recorded videos are making a comeback. Because the damage is widespread, it is often difficult for individuals to handle everything from deleting videos to punishing perpetrators.

Due to the highly specialized and organized nature of these crimes, it is difficult for the government and local governments to respond, so related companies are introducing IT technology solutions.

RavaWave, a digital sex crime response specialist company (CEO Kim Jun-yeop), has built big data capable of preparing for various victim situations. They have also established a 24-hour response counseling system to provide one-on-one customized solutions. Based on these technologies, they can respond to the annually increasing cybercrimes, and above all, they solve victim situations by blocking damage with situation-specific customized solutions to prevent secondary damage caused by video distribution.

RavaWave’s self-developed CS system prevents further damage by providing precise technical solutions that help clients escape threats without retaliation. After a prompt response, the research and technical teams share with the client the methods used to block distribution through work reports.

Kim Tae-won, head of RavaWave’s Strategic Planning Team, said, “As the methods of producing illegal recordings and distributing them on new SNS platforms become increasingly sophisticated, tracking becomes difficult, and most victims feel helpless. We will strive to respond quickly based on our independent solutions that can resolve actual victim situations in all cybercrimes, tailored to each victim’s case.”

Meanwhile, on the 23rd, RavaWave received the special award 'IT Women Entrepreneurs Association President’s Award' at the ‘7th Happy Small and Medium Enterprise Management Awards’ ceremony held as part of the opening event of the ‘2020 Small and Medium Enterprise Smart Job Fair’ jointly hosted by Seoul Economic Daily and the Korea Federation of SMEs.