School Investigates Incident
Student Council Leadership Reports Case to University Human Rights Center
Obscene materials were distributed in a freshman group chat room at a university in Ulsan, prompting the school to launch an internal investigation.
According to Yonhap News on the 7th, citing the university, around 40 obscene images were consecutively posted in the group KakaoTalk chat room of freshmen in Department A of the university at 5 a.m. on the 3rd. It is reported that the chat room, which has about 280 members, contained photos of nude or partially exposed bodies of ordinary women.
The student B who posted the obscene materials even left a message saying, "There are many direct shots. If you want to see them, message me privately." Upon learning of this, the student council leadership immediately closed the chat room and urged members to strictly refrain from secondary processing and distribution. They also reported the matter to the university's Human Rights Center.
The university also began fact-finding efforts. Depending on the results of the investigation, if it is confirmed that the phone was not hacked, the university plans to report the case to investigative authorities. The police also stated that they are assessing the situation and will begin an investigation if complaints or reports are filed by victims or the university.
It is known that about a month ago, B claimed that their laptop was lost and that someone might have used it to upload the obscene materials. It was confirmed that B reported the theft of the laptop on campus in early last month. Accordingly, the police plan to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the theft and the circumstances of the distribution of the obscene materials.
Distributing illegal filmed materials can result in imprisonment of up to 7 years or a fine of up to 5 million won under the Sexual Violence Punishment Act.
Additionally, under Article 13 (Obscene Acts Using Communication Media) of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and Article 44-7 of the Information and Communications Network Act, offenders may face imprisonment of up to 2 years or fines of up to 20 million won.
Previously, last year, there was controversy over claims that deepfakes were created and shared targeting female acquaintances through so-called overlapping local chat rooms (rooms with overlapping acquaintances). At that time, a list of affected schools circulated, including 9 universities in the Daejeon area, 30 high schools, and 8 middle schools. Subsequently, the Cyber Investigation Unit of the Chungbuk Provincial Police Agency became aware of the situation and conducted a preliminary investigation, and some schools also carried out fact-finding surveys.
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