[Exclusive] 'The Second n번방', Arrest and Transfer of Illegal Sexual Exploitation Material Distributors

The distributor of videos in the so-called ‘YoonXXX’ case, involving over 3,000 illegal sexual exploitation materials including minor victims, has been handed over to the prosecution while in custody.

The main perpetrator Jo Joo-bin, who produced and sold illegal sexual exploitation videos on Telegram known as the 'Nth Room case,' is heading to a transport vehicle to be sent to the prosecution at Jongno Police Station in Seoul in March 2020. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

According to the police on the 26th, the Cyber Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent Mr. A, a distributor of illegal sexual exploitation materials, to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in custody on the 3rd on charges of violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse and the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes. Under the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse, those who distribute child and juvenile sexual exploitation materials face imprisonment of three years or more. The Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes stipulates that distributing illegal recordings can result in imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won.

Mr. A is suspected of continuously distributing illegal recordings online even after the death of the original creator and distributor, the late Mr. Yoon.

The YoonXXX case involves Mr. Yoon filming and distributing illegal sexual exploitation materials targeting women he met through smartphone chat applications over eight years, from October 2012 to November 2020. Mr. Yoon uploaded the videos to the internet dark web (websites accessible only through specific programs) and posted victims’ names, educational backgrounds, and workplaces, causing secondary harm. When one of the victims filed a complaint and the police began an investigation, he distributed the illegal sexual exploitation materials he had filmed via the dark web and Telegram, then took his own life.

Experts point out that distributing and possessing illegal recordings is as serious a crime as producing them. Professor Lee Yun-ho, Chair Professor of Police Science at Korea Cyber University, said, “Distributing illegal sexual exploitation materials is an act that destroys the victim’s dignity and mental health,” adding, “It can be seen as an even more malicious act than that of the producer, so it must be thoroughly punished.”