Sharing Pornographic Material and Promoting Prostitution
"Continuous Crackdown Needed to Maintain Awareness"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Telegram chat rooms sharing obscene materials, which were thought to have disappeared after the ‘Nth Room’ incident, are resurfacing. These rooms not only share obscene content but also promote prostitution establishments, making urgent government action necessary.
On the morning of the 14th, a new Telegram chat room for sharing obscene materials was created. It reopened after the previous room sharing such content was shut down the day before. The closed chat room had hundreds of obscene materials uploaded along with a notice stating, “All obscene materials except pedo (short for pedophilia) content are allowed.” The newly opened room also allows free sharing of obscene materials as long as participants follow the rule of “no fighting or causing trouble,” and participants even requested, “Please upload materials quickly.”
Obscene material sharing continued in other chat rooms as well. Some users posted photos or videos taken from ‘deviant’ social media accounts where people expose their bodies, or created chat rooms sharing obscene materials to promote illegal gambling sites and gather people. However, these rooms, conscious of the ‘Nth Room’ incident, stated that any child sexual exploitation materials would be deleted and the uploader would be expelled.
There are also places promoting prostitution establishments and sharing related information. Under the current Anti-Prostitution Act, advertising establishments where prostitution occurs is punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won. Nonetheless, one chat room posted a list of prostitution establishments operating in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, updated daily, described as “establishments operating tirelessly despite the COVID-19 pandemic.” It also included a note saying, “If you write a review, various discount benefits will be provided.”
Experts emphasize the need for active measures against sex-related crimes on Telegram. Professor Lee Geon-su of Baekseok University’s Department of Police Science explained, “Sex crimes are highly contagious and have a high recidivism rate. As time spent at home increased due to COVID-19, exposure to obscene materials has also increased,” adding, “Investigative agencies must conduct continuous and proactive crackdowns to maintain vigilance against sex-related crimes.”
Meanwhile, the police ended the operation of the Digital Sex Crime Special Investigation Headquarters, launched following the ‘Nth Room’ incident on December 30 last year, and transitioned to a permanent crackdown system to continue combating digital sex crimes. During its nine months of operation, the special investigation headquarters cracked down on a total of 2,807 digital sex crimes, arrested 3,575 suspects, and detained 245 individuals.
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