"Will Fight to the End for the Victims" Anonymous Women Demand Strong Punishment for 'n-bunbang' [Interview]

Protest Demanding Harsh Punishment for 'n번방' Sexual Exploitation Crimes
Calls for New Digital Sex Crime Legislation and Laws Punishing Secondary Victimization
Ordinary Women Take to the Streets... Vowing to Fight for Victims

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@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporters Kim Seul-gi and Kang Joo-hee] "The reason I can step forward like this is because of anger. Sometimes I get exhausted seeing their acts that commit unthinkable crimes against the victimized women, but there is no driving force stronger than anger that leads me."

The crimes committed by Jo Joo-bin (25), the suspect in the so-called 'n번방' (Nth Room) case, who brutally trampled on women's human rights by threatening minors and other women to produce sexual exploitation materials, have come to light, sparking national outrage. As of 8:20 a.m. today (26th), a Blue House petition demanding severe punishment for Jo Joo-bin has garnered 2,622,275 signatures, the highest ever.

The crimes committed by Jo Joo-bin have brought ordinary women out onto the streets. They are not affiliated with any political or specific organizations. Their sole purpose in uniting is to raise their voices for the victims until the end and to change related laws to prevent a second Jo Joo-bin incident.

On the afternoon of the 25th at 4 PM, a group composed of 'anonymous women' held a press conference condemning the 'Nth Room' case in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. They stated, "For the safety of ordinary citizens and the return of victims to their daily lives, we demand the full disclosure of the identities of all perpetrators who actively participated in the organized sexual exploitation in the Nth Room case." Photo by Asia Economy DB

On the afternoon of the 25th at 4 p.m., a group composed of 'anonymous women' held a 'Protest and Press Conference Urging Strong Punishment for Those Involved in the Nth Room Case' in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno-gu, Seoul, calling for the enactment of new digital sex crime laws and laws to punish secondary victimization.

They emphasized that everyone involved in the 'n번방' case is a perpetrator and must be severely punished to prevent a second 'n번방' incident.

At the press conference, they stated, "All operators, participants, and buyers of Telegram sexual exploitation rooms must be severely punished," adding, "Buyers of sexual exploitation materials in the Telegram 'n번방' case are sexual violence perpetrators who actively participated in the profit structure by paying from tens of thousands to over a million won."

Regarding the prosecution's demand for a 3 years and 6 months prison sentence for another 'n번방' operator known as 'Watchman,' they called it an "absurd ruling" and demanded the enactment of new digital sex crime laws and laws to punish secondary victimization.

They said, "'Watchman' should also have his identity disclosed like Jo Joo-bin," and "Laws must change in line with evolving digital sex crime platforms. Punishments for sex crimes overall should be strengthened, and laws concerning new digital sex crime punishments must be enacted."

They also urged, "Secondary victimization is a continuation of sex crimes," and called for the enactment of laws that can punish secondary victimization against sex crime victims.

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@

◆ "The crimes inflicted on victims are too horrific... Strong punishment is necessary"

After the press conference, the participants met with Asia Economy reporters and collectively stated that the reason they came out to the streets was because the crimes inflicted on the victims were too horrific.

Participant B said, "While regularly reporting accounts distributing obscene materials, I came to know about the existence of the 'n번방.' I thought I should help if there was anything I could do," explaining the reason for joining the protest demanding strong punishment for sexual exploitation.

B added, "The most shocking thing was that the identities of the victims were casually disclosed in those rooms. Among the victims were not only middle and high school students but also elementary school students," and "It was shocking that these children's lives were trapped in obscene materials."

Participant C said, "Digital sex crimes are still happening on Telegram, including the 'n번방,'" and argued, "The reason perpetrators could keep silent and maintain secrecy was because it was a space where everyone committed crimes together. Therefore, all those involved in the 'n번방' must be severely punished to prevent such incidents from happening again."

C continued, "They shared the perception that 'even if caught, the sentence is only 1 or 2 years,' and 'people involved before were fine,' meaning they believed they wouldn't be caught," and pointed out, "Seeing them, I thought the laws concerning perpetrators are too weak."

The 'n번방' sexual exploitation strong punishment protest organizers emphasized, "We hope that strong precedents for punishing sex crimes will be established through the 'n번방' case."

They added, "The history of sex crimes has not improved and has continued. We hope this incident will lay the foundation for strong punishment of sex crime cases," and "We will push for strong punishment of perpetrators so that victims can return to their daily lives as soon as possible."

*If you are experiencing difficulties due to illegal filming or distribution of photos or videos, threats using such materials, or sexual harassment in cyberspace, you can receive support from the Women's Emergency Hotline 1366 and the Digital Sex Crime Victim Support Center (02-735-8994).

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