"How to Delete n-Banbang Records Urgently" Flood of Inquiries... Cheong Reviews Full Disclosure of Participants' Identities

"Does leaving Telegram delete records?" Suspected 'n번방' participant posts appear
"We delete your records" scam open chat rooms flourish
Min Gap-ryong, National Police Chief: "All involved in possessing and distributing videos will face legal action, identity disclosure under review"

Inquiry posted on Naver Knowledge-iN regarding the punishment for 'n번방' / Photo by Naver Capture

[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Gayeon and Kang Juhee (Intern)] The so-called 'n-bunbang incident,' in which sexually exploitative videos targeting minors and women were distributed in Telegram chat rooms, is causing a social uproar. Investigative authorities are also considering punishing those who participated in the 'n-bunbang.'

As a result, posts inquiring about the possibility of punishment by individuals presumed to be participants in the 'n-bunbang' on online sites are continuously being posted, further fueling public outrage.

On the 22nd, a post titled "Urgent: How to Delete Telegram Records of n-bunbang" was uploaded on an online site.

The author asked, "If I leave Telegram, will the records be deleted immediately?" and "Even if there is no way to delete them, isn't it impossible to punish tens of thousands of people?" In addition, posts asking about the possibility of punishment for chat room participants continue to be posted, such as "My friend was in the n-bunbang; will they be punished?" and "I'm a minor and have even left Telegram, so since it's impossible to punish tens of thousands of people, can I be relieved?"

Jo Joo-bin, the operator of the 'Doctor's Room' who threatened dozens of women including minors on the internet messenger Telegram and forced them to film obscene materials which he then distributed, is coming out of Jongno Police Station in Seoul on the morning of the 25th to be sent to the prosecution. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

There were also posts asking if there are companies that delete Telegram usage records. The author of the post wrote, "Do Telegram usage records remain? I've heard there are places that delete them for money, please let me know."

Moreover, fake KakaoTalk open chat rooms claiming to "delete Telegram access records" appeared in large numbers and then disappeared. These open chat rooms claimed that if you provide personal information such as name, date of birth, phone number, and pay between 10,000 to 30,000 KRW, they would delete the records, saying "We will delete your n-bunbang records" and "We will definitely delete your Telegram records."

Since the arrest of the key suspect 'Doctor' in the 'n-bunbang' case on the 20th, such posts aiming to delete participation records and destroy evidence have flooded online communities and chat rooms.

Telegram logo/Photo by Yonhap News

However, this is presumed to be a scam preying on the anxiety of Telegram chat room participants. According to experts, there is currently no way for ordinary people to delete Telegram chat records, as Telegram is a foreign online messenger.

Professor Lim Jong-in of Korea University's Graduate School of Information Security analyzed in an interview with MBC on the 23rd that deleting server records is impossible. Professor Lim explained, "Maybe the US NSA (National Security Agency) or FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) could do it, but it is almost impossible for Korean security companies to technically access Telegram cache servers and delete access records."

Meanwhile, a petition on the Blue House National Petition Board titled "We want the personal information of all Telegram n-bunbang members to be disclosed" had over 1.8 million supporters as of 7 a.m. on the 25th.

The petitioner pointed out, "All members who were in the Telegram n-bunbang are sex offenders. All disgusting members who got excited, sympathized, and wanted to commit crimes while watching criminal content are not potential sex offenders but just sex offenders."

Regarding the petition, National Police Agency Commissioner Min Gap-ryong responded on the 24th that not only the suspect Jo Joo-bin but all accomplices will be prosecuted, and the disclosure of their personal information is also being considered.

Commissioner Min said, "We will thoroughly investigate by deploying all possible police capabilities not only against the arrested operator Jo Joo-bin but also the 'Doctor Bang' helpers, video producers, and those who possessed and distributed sexually exploitative videos." He added, "Taking this n-bunbang investigation as an opportunity, we will systematically and comprehensively respond to the widespread digital sex crimes in our society by immediately establishing and operating a 'Digital Sex Crime Special Investigation Headquarters' headed by the Cyber Safety Bureau Chief of the National Police Agency."

He continued, "To prevent difficulties in investigation due to overseas servers, we will further strengthen international cooperation with foreign investigative agencies such as Interpol, the US FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), as well as global IT companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.