Man A, a Seoul National University Graduate, and Others Indicted and Detained for Producing and Distributing Fake Videos
All 12 Female Victims Are Seoul National University Graduates
The 'Seoul National University version of the Nth Room' case has emerged. It has been confirmed that both the more than 10 victims and suspects are all graduates of Seoul National University. The case shows similarities to the past 'Nth Room sexual exploitation material production and distribution case' in that the digital sex crimes were committed through 'Telegram'.
According to MBC on the 20th, Park Mo (40), a male graduate of Seoul National University, was arrested and indicted on charges including the production and distribution of false videos. The other two individuals arrested on related charges were also graduates of Seoul National University. All 12 female victims who filed complaints were also graduates of Seoul National University. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is expanding the investigation, believing there may be more accomplices.
The perpetrator was a senior from the same department who attended school for over 10 years
According to MBC, one of the victims, A, installed the Telegram application on her phone to obtain movie reservation information. From the next day, dozens of obscene photos and videos began flooding in through Telegram. The person appearing in them was none other than A herself.
A manipulated A’s face onto another woman’s body and used it to commit obscene acts.
A said, "It was a photo where a man’s genitalia and my picture were overlapped like that." The manipulated obscene materials were spread in group chats along with A’s name and age. Participants in the group chats sexually mocked A as 'this season’s prey' and participated in sexual violence. The perpetrator captured the long-term sexual violence situations and sent them back to A, demanding responses and applying sexual pressure.
What was even more shocking was that the perpetrator was someone close to A. She also received messages like, "I can’t forget the day I first saw you... I can’t forget myself who did XX when I first saw you." A learned months later that there were more victims in the same department. The number of victims confirmed through the manipulated obscene materials distributed by the perpetrator approached twenty. All were female students of Seoul National University. The victims were spread across about four different departments.
The perpetrator, who brazenly continued the crimes, was eventually arrested by the police on the 3rd of last month. The key perpetrator, Park, was a senior in the same department as A. It is known that he became acquainted with the victims while attending school for over 10 years.
Once again, the investigative team 'Bulkkot' plays a crucial role
The key perpetrator Park evaded tracking intelligently and continued his crimes for over three years. The decisive role in his capture was played by 'Chujokdan Bulkkot' (Tracking Team Bulkkot), who revealed the 'Nth Room' case to the world five years ago. Park was caught using 'underwear' as bait, which he demanded.
Two years ago, the Seoul National University victims sought out Won Eunji, a member of 'Chujokdan Bulkkot' who investigated the Nth Room case. Won said, "Since I had covered the Nth Room, they wanted to receive help from the know-how I had accumulated during the investigation or from the police and others I had come to know." After tracking, Won entered Park’s Telegram chat room, approaching him as a '30-something man who likes obscene materials.' After building a friendship for about two years, Won was asked for underwear by Park, and during the third meeting, the police raided the scene and arrested Park.
Despite repeated 'refusals to investigate'... victims’ persistent demands → trial → detention
It took more than two and a half years from the time the initial victimization was confirmed until the key suspect was brought to trial. This was because Telegram, which is difficult to investigate, was used. The fact that the case could proceed to trial was ultimately thanks to the victims who tracked the case.
When victim A first approached the police, all the officer did was tell her to write a complaint. She was told that because it was Telegram, investigation was difficult and there was nothing they could do immediately, so she wrote the complaint and left. Six months later, she was even notified that the investigation would be suspended because the suspect could not be identified. Another victim who filed a complaint around the same time received the same result.
The victims began searching for the perpetrator themselves. They focused on the fact that the criminal photos used for synthesizing obscene materials were used as KakaoTalk 'profile pictures (PFP)'. Considering that some old profile pictures had been deleted, it was also speculated that the perpetrator was someone they had known for a long time. When the victims pooled their saved contacts, only one person overlapped.
They requested the police to investigate this person, but the police dismissed the case, saying "there are no investigative leads." The victims then turned to the prosecution. They filed an objection with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, but it was dismissed. They appealed to the High Prosecutors’ Office, but the result was also dismissal. Finally, they filed a request for a trial with the court, asking for the case to be sent to trial. Only then did the Seoul High Court overturn the investigative agencies’ decisions, ruling that it was appropriate to send the case to trial. Considering that the acceptance rate for such requests is usually around 1%, this was very unusual. Eventually, with the trial held this year, the key suspect Park was detained last month.
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