103 Sexual Exploitation Victims... Police Arrest 140, Detain 23

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The police have arrested 140 people and detained 23 on charges of producing and distributing sexually exploitative materials through social network services (SNS) such as Telegram. The number of victims has exceeded 100, including 26 teenagers.

On the 2nd, the National Police Agency announced that it had investigated 98 cases of digital sex crimes related to sexual exploitation up to the previous day and referred 13 cases for prosecution. Among them, 29 operators produced and distributed sexually exploitative materials on platforms like Telegram, 14 suspects distributed them, and 97 were charged with possessing such materials. Additionally, 25 suspects were involved in redistributing or simply distributing the materials.

So far, the police investigation has identified 103 victims. The largest group was teenagers, with 26 confirmed cases, followed by 17 in their 20s, 8 in their 30s, and 1 in their 40s. There were 51 victims whose ages could not be confirmed.

The police are conducting investigations into a total of 85 cases, including three cases involving the production and distribution of sexually exploitative materials by 'GodGod,' the originator of the Telegram 'Nth Room,' as well as 'Doctor's Room' and 'Project N Room.' They are also investigating cases of redistribution. Furthermore, among the members of the Doctor's Room, the police have identified 15,000 unique nicknames after excluding duplicates and are focusing on identifying their identities.

Earlier, on the 25th, the police established the Digital Sex Crime Special Investigation Headquarters under the National Police Agency and have been intensively investigating sex crimes spread through SNS, including Telegram. The Special Investigation Headquarters is led by the Director of the Cyber Safety Bureau of the National Police Agency, with a total of 4,283 personnel dedicated to digital crime investigations.

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