Launched Following Telegram Nth Room Case
511 Individuals Caught Producing Sexual Exploitation Material and Operating Chat Rooms
Most Suspects in Their Teens and Twenties
1,133 Victim Videos Deleted and Blocked
On March 25th, the Digital Sex Crime Special Investigation Headquarters plaque ceremony was held at the Seoul Seodaemun-gu Police Agency North Building. / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The police's "Digital Sex Crime Special Investigation Headquarters," launched in response to the "Telegram Nth Room" case, has arrested more than 3,500 related suspects over nine months and is now concluding its operations. The police plan to transition to a permanent crackdown system centered on cyber sexual violence investigation teams within provincial police agencies nationwide and continue efforts to combat digital sex crimes.
According to the National Police Agency on the 30th, since the establishment of the Special Investigation Headquarters with a total of 4,238 personnel at the headquarters and various police stations on March 25 this year, a total of 2,807 digital sex crime cases have been cracked down on, with 3,575 suspects arrested and 245 detained as of this date.
The most common type of suspect was those who purchased or possessed child sexual exploitation materials, numbering 1,875. Sellers and distributors numbered 1,170, and 511 suspects directly produced child sexual exploitation materials and operated group chat rooms. Most suspects were teenagers and people in their twenties, who have high accessibility to communication media. People in their twenties accounted for the largest group with 1,448 (40.5%), but underage suspects in their teens also numbered 1,090 (30.5%).
The police identified a total of 1,154 victims of digital sex crimes. Among them, teenagers accounted for the largest group with 667 (60.7%). This confirmed that a significant portion of digital sex crimes were brutal sexual exploitation targeting youths. The police established specialized and tailored protection and support measures for digital sex crime victims and conducted 4,387 support activities. Specifically, these included requests for personal protection, preparation of pseudonymous statements, support and linkage for video deletion, among others. Additionally, a total of 1,133 victim videos were deleted or blocked.
The Special Investigation Headquarters succeeded in arresting major Nth Room operators and accomplices such as "Doctor" Jo Joo-bin (25) and "GodGod" Moon Hyung-wook (25), uncovering the organizational structure and profit mechanisms of digital sex crimes, thereby revealing the reality of group sexual exploitation crimes. This led to improvements in laws and systems that fill gaps in punishment and regulation, including ▲the establishment of new offenses such as possession and viewing of illegal filming and distribution materials (effective May 19) ▲granting the police the right to apply for pre-indictment seizure preservation (effective September 10) ▲strengthening Supreme Court sentencing guidelines (effective January 1 next year). Alongside this, the police plan to promote legislation for "undercover investigations" and "infiltration investigations" to enable proactive investigations and prevention.
After the conclusion of the Special Investigation Headquarters' operations, the police will continue regular crackdowns centered on cyber sexual violence investigation teams installed in provincial police agencies nationwide. They also plan to complete an investigation environment optimized for digital sex crime investigations and victim protection systems. A National Police Agency official emphasized, “As digital sex crimes become more covert, sophisticated, and organized with the advancement of IT technology, we plan to further develop the police’s response capabilities through internal and external cooperation, as well as continuous research and education.”
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