Police "Considering Disclosure of Personal Information of Jo Joo-bin's Accomplices"

Police Deploy 4,283 Officers to 'Digital Sexual Crime Special Investigation Unit'
140 Arrested for Producing and Distributing Sexual Exploitation Material

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 were 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 Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The police investigating digital sex crimes such as sexual exploitation are considering disclosing the identities not only of Jo Joo-bin (24, detained), whose identity has already been revealed, but also of his accomplices.

On the 2nd, the National Police Agency announced that they investigated 98 cases of digital sex crimes involving the production and distribution of sexually exploitative obscene materials through social network services (SNS) such as Telegram, and sent 13 cases to prosecution. A police official said, "We are continuing the investigation of accomplices related to Jo Joo-bin, and depending on the investigation results, we are considering whether to disclose their identities."

As of the day before, the police arrested 140 people on charges of producing and distributing sexually exploitative materials on Telegram and other platforms, detaining 23 of them. Among them, 29 operators produced and distributed the materials, 14 suspects only distributed them, and 97 were charged with possession of sexually exploitative materials. Twenty-five suspects were classified as simply distributing general obscene materials. So far, four people, including three participants of the 'Doctor's Room,' have surrendered to the police.

The number of victims exceeded 100. The largest group was teenagers, with 26 confirmed cases, followed by 17 in their 20s, 8 in their 30s, and 1 in their 40s. Fifty-one victims' ages could not be confirmed. Among them, two requested personal protection from the police. Many perpetrators were also teenagers. By age, there were 78 in their 20s, 30 in their 30s, and 25 teenagers.

The police are currently investigating a total of 85 cases, including three involving the production and distribution of sexually exploitative materials through Telegram's 'n번방' initially created by 'GodGod,' as well as the 'Doctor's Room' and 'Project N Room.' GodGod has not yet been arrested. In the case of the Doctor's Room, Jo was apprehended because the sexually exploitative materials were traded using the cryptocurrency 'Monero,' but the n번방 operated by GodGod used cultural gift certificates. A police official said, "It is difficult to say whether GodGod's identity has been confirmed, but we are investigating other related activities."

The police have also identified 15,000 unique nicknames of Doctor's Room members, excluding duplicates, and are focusing on identifying them. On the 25th of last month, the police launched a special investigation headquarters under the National Police Agency to focus on investigating sexual exploitation 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 deployed for digital crime investigations.

In particular, to strengthen international cooperation regarding Telegram, where illegal videos continue to spread indiscriminately even after the perpetrators of sexual exploitation were caught, the number of personnel in charge was increased from 6 to 15. A police official stated, "We are also promoting cooperation with Google and Facebook, and are working with agencies such as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations and Interpol to locate Telegram's headquarters."

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