Prosecutors to Indict Jo Joo-bin and Accomplices Today... Interim Investigation Results to Be Announced in Official Afternoon Briefing

Exempted from Criminal Organization Charges... Additional Prosecution Under Review Through Supplementary Investigation

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 seen on the morning of the 25th of last month leaving Jongno Police Station in Seoul to be transferred to the prosecution. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seokjin Choi and Seongpil Jo] The prosecution investigating the ‘Nth Room’ case, involving the production and distribution of sexually exploitative videos via Telegram, will indict the ‘Doctor’s Room’ operator Jo Joo-bin (24, in custody) and his accomplices on the 13th.

The charge of organizing a criminal group, which had drawn significant attention regarding its applicability, is reportedly not included in Jo’s indictment this time. However, the prosecution may file additional charges against Jo and others for organizing a criminal group following supplementary investigations.

The Digital Sex Crime Special Investigation Task Force of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (led by Chief Prosecutor Hyunjung Yoo) will formally indict Jo on charges including production and distribution of obscene materials under the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse. At 2:30 p.m., they will hold a briefing at the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office press room in Seocho-dong, Seoul, to announce interim investigation results related to Jo’s indictment.

This is the first official briefing by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office related to an investigation since the enforcement of regulations on the prohibition of disclosure of criminal cases, enacted during the prosecution’s investigation of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk last year. Chief Prosecutor Yoo, who has been leading the investigation, is expected to conduct the briefing personally.

Previously, the police applied a total of 12 charges against Jo when transferring the case to the prosecution, including production of obscene materials, simulated sexual acts, and rape under the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse; forcible molestation, threats, fraud, coercion, attempted coercion, and conspiracy to murder under the Criminal Act; illegal filming using a camera under the Sexual Violence Punishment Act; and violations of the Child Welfare Act and Personal Information Protection Act.

Among these, the conspiracy to murder charge, alleging that Jo and social service worker Kang (24) planned to kill a young girl, is expected to be dropped by the prosecution in line with the police’s recommendation.

Regarding the highly anticipated charge of organizing a criminal group, legal review and related investigations have not yet been completed, so it is expected to be excluded from the indictment for now.

Until now, the prosecution has focused its investigative efforts on securing testimonies and evidence through confrontational investigations to apply the charge of organizing a criminal group against Jo and his associates, aiming for severe punishment.

However, since Jo and his accomplices have testified that they were unaware of each other’s existence or denied specific instructions related to the crimes, the prosecution needs sufficient physical evidence to apply the charge of organizing a criminal group.

Especially since this is a completely new type of criminal group involving digital sex crimes, unlike traditional violent organizations or university student groups to which the prosecution has previously applied the charge of organizing a criminal group, the key issue is how much concrete evidence supporting organized activities?such as codes of conduct or rules on profit distribution?can be secured.

On this day, the prosecution will also indict accomplices who participated in the production and distribution of obscene materials alongside Jo. Additional indictments will be made for accomplices already on trial.

The prosecution plans to continue investigations into other crimes and criminal proceeds related to Jo and his accomplices even after the indictment.

Currently, among the three accomplices identified as co-operators of the Doctor’s Room with Jo, ‘Bbootta’ Kang (19), suspected of managing members and delivering profits to Jo, is under police custody, while ‘Igiya’ Private Lee (20), accused of distributing and promoting sexually exploitative videos hundreds of times, is under military prosecution custody. The remaining accomplice, ‘Samagwi,’ has not yet been apprehended.

Meanwhile, the court receiving Jo’s case plans to assign the trial panel before the general election. Although case assignments are usually made randomly through electronic allocation, considering the importance of the case, it is expected to be assigned to one of the four panels specializing in sex crime cases at the Seoul Central District Court.

There is also a possibility that the case will be consolidated with those of Jo’s already indicted accomplices, including ‘Taepyeongyang’ Lee (16), known as Jo’s successor, and social service worker Kang. Earlier, the prosecution requested consolidation with Jo’s case during Kang’s trial held on the 10th at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 33 (Presiding Judge Donghwan Son).

On the 9th, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office established and has been implementing strengthened ‘Sexually Exploitative Video Offender Case Handling Standards,’ stipulating that all offenders involved in the organized production of child sexual exploitation videos will be detained regardless of their degree of involvement.

Therefore, regardless of whether the charge of organizing a criminal group is applied, the prosecution’s sentencing demands against Jo and his accomplices are expected to be much harsher than in previous sex crime cases. Since there are no established sentencing guidelines for digital sex crimes like this case, attention is also focused on the final sentencing by the court.

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