"Life Sentences for Nth Room Offenders, Punishment for Simply Entering" Park Kwangon Proposes Legal Amendments

[Asia Economy, reporter Jeon Jin-young] Legislation is being proposed that would punish individuals simply for entering chat rooms such as the "Nth Room" and "Doctor's Room." The bill also introduces provisions to impose sentences of up to life imprisonment for participants.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On March 29, Park Kwangon, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, announced that he would be submitting amendments to the Information and Communications Network Act (Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc.) and the Sexual Violence Punishment Act (Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes) reflecting these measures.

The proposed amendments would revise the current Sexual Violence Punishment Act to introduce a "minimum sentencing system" that allows for sentences of up to life imprisonment. Participants in the Nth Room could face life sentences under this provision.

Furthermore, the bill stipulates that those who organize, join, or participate as members of groups with the purpose of committing digital sexual crimes will be punished under the newly established offense of "digital criminal organization." While Article 114 of the current Criminal Act defines the crime of organizing criminal groups, it has been criticized as ineffective in addressing organized crimes occurring online, as highlighted by the Nth Room case. If the amendments pass, simply joining or entering chat rooms like the Nth Room would become a punishable offense.

Additionally, the bill introduces a provision that defines acts of threatening or coercing others using illegal sexual exploitation materials as sexual crimes. Currently, such acts are prosecuted as intimidation under the Criminal Act, which carries relatively light penalties. Under the proposed law, those who threaten or coerce others would face up to 10 years in prison, be subject to registration and disclosure of personal information, and be restricted from employment at institutions related to children and adolescents.

The amendments also include provisions to classify those who knowingly possess or view illegal sexual exploitation materials as sex offenders, punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won. The bill also introduces a whistleblower reward system (paparazzi system) that provides rewards for reporting perpetrators of digital sexual crimes.

Park stated, "The most important thing is to break the chain of production, distribution, intimidation, consumption, and commercialization of sexual exploitation materials," adding, "Producers, distributors, and consumers must all be defined and punished as part of a single criminal organization."

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