"Please Believe Me, It Was Really a Mistake" Is It Possible to Enter the 'n Beonbang' by Mistake?

Public Outcry Demands Punishment for All 'n번방' Participants
Some Participants Appeal for Leniency Citing 'Mistake'
Various Conditions Must Be Met to Obtain 'n번방' Access Link
Leniency for Mistake Practically Impossible

Telegram Doctor's Room operator Jo Joo-bin is leaving Jongno Police Station in Seoul on the 25th. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] As Jo Joo-bin (25), known as 'Doctor,' who threatened minors and women to produce sexual exploitation materials and distributed them for money through Telegram, was arrested, public opinion for punishing the so-called 'observers' who participated in the chat rooms is growing. Consequently, some people who entered the rooms are offering explanations such as 'I entered the room by chance,' 'It was a mistake,' or 'I clicked the wrong link.' The police hold the view that it is practically difficult to enter the room by mistake.

On the morning of the 25th, various online community boards and comments on articles related to the 'Nth Room' showed posts claiming that entering the 'Nth Room' was a mistake.

One netizen expressed frustration, saying, "I really clicked a link given by a friend once, and it turned out to be the Nth Room. It was truly a mistake." Another netizen also lamented, "I clicked the link without thinking and entered by mistake. Please tell me how to resolve this."

On portal site boards, posts requesting help after accidentally entering the 'Nth Room' are easily found. One netizen pleaded, "I entered the Nth Room by mistake. I am really at a loss. Please help me," expressing their grievance.

Another netizen asked, "Is it true that people who only viewed the Nth Room are not punished?" and stated that they only viewed photos and videos of women in the 'Nth Room.'

Photo by a portal site bulletin board

However, investigative authorities hold the view that it is very difficult to enter the 'Nth Room' by mistake. According to the police, to enter the 'Nth Room,' a 'connection link' is required, and to obtain this link, one must fulfill certain requests demanded by the chat room creator or others. Therefore, it is practically impossible to enter the room by simply clicking a link by mistake.

Civilians also express disbelief. Mr. A, a man in his 30s who works, said, "I know from the news that various procedures to enter the Nth Room are complicated, so how many simple mistakes would have to happen to enter that room? It’s nonsense," he pointed out.

Another man in his 20s, Mr. B, questioned, "Who could understand it as a mistake? If it was a mistake, shouldn’t they have reported it to the police?"

Meanwhile, voices demanding punishment for those who participated in the 'Doctor Room' and 'Nth Room' are growing louder. A petition titled 'I want the personal information of all Telegram Nth Room members to be disclosed' posted on the Blue House National Petition Board on the 20th had gained 1,875,818 supporters as of 7:50 a.m. on the 25th.

The petitioner urged, "All members in the Telegram rooms are sex offenders," and said, "If the country will not protect children from child sex offenders, please disclose the personal information of all members in detail so that people can avoid them on their own."

Jo Joo-bin, the operator of the Telegram 'Baksa Bang,' who threatened minors and women to produce and distribute illegal sexual exploitation videos. Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

Jo Joo-bin, the 'Doctor' currently detained by the police, is known to have created the 'Doctor Room' on Telegram in September last year and started committing sexual exploitation crimes. He threatened minors and women to produce videos and sold them for money through secret Telegram chat rooms.

He operated the chat rooms in three levels according to severity, charging virtual currency equivalent to 200,000 won, 700,000 won, and 1,500,000 won as entrance fees. Some women were forced to write words like 'slave' and 'doctor' on their bodies and upload nude photos, indicating the cruelty of Jo’s crimes.

Meanwhile, the police announced that at 2 p.m. on the 24th, the Personal Information Disclosure Deliberation Committee decided to disclose the personal information of the sexual exploitation offender Jo Joo-bin.

The committee stated, "The suspect referred to an unspecified number of women as slaves, produced and distributed sexual exploitation videos, and the crime method was malicious and repetitive. The crime is serious, with about 70 victims including children and adolescents. Moreover, an arrest warrant was issued, and sufficient human and material evidence was secured."

They added, "We thoroughly reviewed the reasons for restricting disclosure, such as the suspect’s human rights and potential secondary damage to the suspect’s family and acquaintances, but after comprehensive deliberation on whether it aligns with the public interest in terms of the public’s right to know, prevention of recidivism in similar crimes, and crime prevention, it was decided to disclose the suspect’s name, age, and face."

With the decision to disclose personal information on this day, Jo Joo-bin became the first sexual crime suspect whose personal information was publicly revealed.

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