Catching the 2nd and 3rd Nth Rooms with 'Undercover' Operations

Government to Announce 'Digital Sex Crime Eradication Measures' on 23rd
Includes Active Use of Undercover Investigations
Investigation Guidelines to Be Established and Implemented Immediately
Legal Grounds to Protect Investigators and Ensure Evidence Validity Also Prepared
Experts Say Detailed Standards Needed for Crime Prevention and Evidence Recognition

[Asia Economy Reporters Seungyun Song and Jeongyun Lee] The government's 'Digital Sex Crime Eradication Measures' announced on the 23rd include plans to actively utilize the 'undercover investigation' technique to eradicate digital sex crimes such as the 'Nth Room case.' The core of the plan is to actively introduce special investigation techniques, mainly used by investigative agencies like the police and prosecutors in drug and prostitution cases, into the investigation phase. This comes in response to demands to broadly recognize undercover investigations tailored to the nature of digital sex crimes, which are secretly conducted to evade tracking by investigative agencies, triggered by the Nth Room case.

Accordingly, investigative agencies plan to actively apply undercover investigations, where investigators disguise themselves as minors or others, to digital sex crimes as well. First, they will prepare investigation guidelines to be immediately applied in the field, and also plan to establish legal grounds soon, considering the protection of investigators during the investigation process and the evidentiary value in future trials.

Undercover investigations, meaning sting operations or covert investigations, have so far been permitted only within limited scopes. According to Supreme Court precedents, 'opportunity-providing' sting operations, which provide crime opportunities to those with criminal intent to apprehend them, are lawful, but 'inducement-type' sting operations, which provoke crimes from those without intent to commit them, have been considered illegal. Because of this, investigative practitioners have pointed out limitations in actually applying undercover techniques. There is a risk that evidence obtained through undercover operations may not be recognized in court, or that investigators may be accused of illegal acts. A police official in charge of investigations said, "When criminals are caught through undercover investigation techniques, it is true that investigators tend to hesitate because protecting them afterward can be difficult."

On the other hand, foreign investigative agencies use undercover techniques more actively than we do. For example, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) created and operated a child pornography site called 'Playpen' in 2015 to catch child sex offenders. The FBI implanted malicious spyware on this site to identify the whereabouts of about 1,300 members who joined the site, prosecuting 137 of them.

On the morning of the 17th, at the Jongno Police Station in Seoul, citizens held a picket demanding severe punishment as the vehicle carrying Kang Hoon, alias "Buddha," an accomplice who assisted operator Jo Joo-bin in running and managing chat rooms on the Telegram "Baksa Room," and who is charged with violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse, left the Jongno Police Station and headed to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Experts agree on the need to expand the permissible scope of undercover investigations. The crucial point is how far the evidentiary value of undercover evidence can be recognized in court. Professor Geonsu Lee of the Department of Police Science at Baekseok University explained, "For smooth undercover investigations by investigative agencies, it is urgent to establish clear legal grounds. As long as the procedural process of undercover investigations does not deviate from rationality, clear standards and regulations should be created so that investigations can be conducted concretely and actively."

Professor Woonghyuk Lee of the Department of Police Science at Konkuk University also emphasized, "Even if a case is investigated through undercover operations and brought to trial, it will be meaningless if the evidentiary value is not recognized during the trial. To increase the judiciary's understanding of the field, related agencies need to cooperate and provide practical training together on-site."

Going a step further, there are also calls to utilize undercover investigation techniques from a crime prevention perspective. Attorney Taeun Koo of the law firm Lin Tech & Law said, "While legalizing undercover investigations, the facts uncovered through undercover operations, including the investigation techniques themselves, should be disclosed to maximize the effect of preemptively blocking crimes."

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