Prosecution Indicts 'Buddha' Kang Hoon on Charges of Organizing a Criminal Group... Investigation Focused (Comprehensive)

Extortion of 10 Million Won from Former Gwangju Mayor Yoon Jang-hyun Alongside Jo Joo-bin

Gang Hoon, known as 'Buddha,' the co-operator of the Telegram 'Doctor's Room' along with Jo Joo-bin, is being transferred to the prosecution by police vehicle on the 17th at Jongno Police Station in Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seokjin Choi, Hyungmin Kim] The prosecution has indicted Kang Hoon (18), known as 'Butta,' an accomplice of Jo Joo-bin (24, detained and indicted), the operator of the Telegram 'Doctor's Room,' on charges of producing and distributing sexually exploitative materials.

The prosecution, having brought Jo and his accomplices to trial, is expected to focus its investigative efforts on proving the charge of organizing a criminal group against Jo and his associates.

The Special Task Force on Digital Sex Crimes at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (headed by Deputy Chief Prosecutor Yoo Hyun-jung) indicted Kang on the 6th on 11 charges, including production and distribution of obscene materials under the Youth Protection Act.

Kang is accused of using the nickname 'Butta' in the Telegram 'Doctor's Room' operated by Jo, recruiting participants, and delivering criminal proceeds.

It was confirmed that he acted as a kind of 'fund manager,' converting cryptocurrency paid by paid members as entrance fees into cash and delivering it to Jo.

In indicting Kang, the prosecution applied charges including production and distribution of child and youth pornography, sexual assault, coercion of child prostitution, violation of the Sexual Violence Punishment Act (filming using cameras, etc.), sexual assault, coercion, threats, fraud, and violation of the Act on the Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment.

Additionally, for the crimes involving the production of several so-called 'deepfake' photos that combined nude images with photos of a female acquaintance and distributing them on social networking services (SNS) such as Twitter, the indictment included charges of violation of the Information and Communications Network Act (network intrusion, etc.), production and distribution of child and youth pornography, and defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act.

Earlier, the police investigating Kang had transferred him to the prosecution on nine charges. The prosecution excluded the charge of attempted coercion but added three charges: violation of the Child and Youth Protection Act, violation of the Child Welfare Act, and defamation under the Information and Communications Network Act.

The prosecution first indicted Kang on 11 charges and decided to determine whether to apply the charge of organizing a criminal group after further investigation.

Based on analysis of precedents and other cases, the prosecution has tentatively concluded that there is no legal difficulty in applying the charge of organizing a criminal group to Jo Joo-bin and his associates, considering the recent trend of relaxed criteria such as the direct and continuous nature of the crime and the command and control system, which courts have used as standards to determine criminal groups.

However, the scope of application is expected to be decided based on the roles and level of active participation within the organization. Members who sent money and downloaded sexually exploitative videos will not be charged with organizing a criminal group solely for transferring money, but if they actually downloaded and stored the videos, they may face criminal punishment for possession of obscene materials, according to the prosecution.

A prosecution official stated, "We have identified a total of 36 people, including Jo Joo-bin and Kang Hoon, under the charge of organizing a criminal group and have conducted raids on offices of those who provided funds for the Doctor's Room sexual exploitation crimes. We will continue the investigation in cooperation with the police."

He added, "We will thoroughly investigate additional accomplices and undiscovered crimes to uncover the full extent of the criminal group and related offenses."

Meanwhile, Kang is also accused of conspiring with Jo to embezzle a total of 10 million won in two installments of 5 million won each from former Gwangju Mayor Yoon Jang-hyun. During the deception process, Jo impersonated a judge and Kang impersonated the judge's secretary to secure favorable trials for Yoon's side.

The allegations related to JTBC President Sohn Suk-hee are still under police investigation and have not been transferred to the prosecution, so they are not included in the current indictment.

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