'Gatgat' Moon Hyung-wook opens over 10 chat rooms to distribute sexual exploitation material... 165 including accomplices arrested

Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency, Today's Gatgat Investigation Briefing

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] It has been revealed through police investigations that Moon Hyung-wook (24), the original creator of the 'Telegram n-room' who produced and distributed sexual exploitation materials targeting minors, opened more than 10 chat rooms to commit his crimes. The offenses were carried out in a very planned and meticulous manner.

On the morning of the 14th, Kim Hee-jung, Head of the 1st Division of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency, stated in a briefing, "We arrested 'GodGod' Moon Hyung-wook and detained him on the 12th of this month, and through ongoing investigations, we have apprehended four accomplices," adding, "We have also arrested 160 individuals who distributed or possessed sexual exploitation materials, totaling 165 arrests related to this case so far."

According to the police, Moon is suspected of producing and distributing child sexual exploitation materials from September 2018 to January of this year. The charges against Moon include nine counts under various laws: production of obscene materials, rape, similar sexual acts, distribution and possession of obscene materials under the Child and Youth Sexual Protection Act; sexual harassment of children under the Child Welfare Act; infringement under the Information and Communications Network Act; coercion and threats, among others.

Police investigations revealed that Moon created a total of more than 10 Telegram chat rooms, including 'Rooms 1 to 5' in February last year, 'Rooms 6 to 8' and separate chat rooms in July of the same year, and additional chat rooms in August and January of this year, all for the purpose of distributing sexual exploitation materials.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Moon's crimes were executed with extreme planning and precision. He approached children and adolescents who posted photos exposing their bodies on social networking services (SNS), particularly in so-called 'deviant' communities, by saying, "You have been reported, but I will help you," and stole personal information such as their SNS IDs and passwords. He then threatened the victims to obtain photos of body exposure, escalating to producing sexual exploitation materials and distributing them through the n-room. It was also revealed that after recruiting accomplices, he instructed them to sexually assault victims to produce sexual exploitation materials.

In the early stages of his crimes, Moon received cultural gift certificates worth approximately 900,000 won as an entrance fee to the n-room, all of which he passed on to the victims. During police questioning, he reportedly stated, "I did not use them myself because I was afraid of being caught by the police."

The police began an internal investigation in March last year after receiving a request from the Digital Sexual Crime Victim Support Center under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. They identified Moon in April of this year and urgently arrested him on the 9th during a summons investigation. Initially, Moon denied the charges, claiming, "I have downloaded sexual exploitation materials but I am not GodGod, and I did not produce sexual exploitation materials." However, when confronted with digital evidence collected and analyzed by the police, he eventually confessed to the crimes.

Head Kim said, "We will thoroughly investigate Moon's additional crimes, accomplices, and criminal proceeds, and cooperate with related agencies to delete and block sexual exploitation materials, provide counseling, and connect victims to protection agencies to do our utmost to protect victims." He added, "Victims who hesitate to report due to concerns about revealing their identity despite being harmed are encouraged to actively report and seek help from relevant agencies."

He continued, "We will also relentlessly pursue suspects who distribute, purchase, or possess sexual exploitation materials and devote all our efforts to eradicating digital sexual crimes."

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