'First Application of Crime Organization Membership Charge' Two Paid Members of Baksa Room Under Warrant Review

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Two paid members of the 'Baksa Room' who were the first among participants in the production and distribution of sexual exploitation materials to have an arrest warrant requested under the charge of 'joining a criminal organization' appeared at court on the 25th for a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing).

They arrived at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul, where the warrant hearing was held around 10 a.m., and entered the courtroom avoiding the press.

The warrant hearing for them will begin at 10:30 a.m. under the presiding of Judge Kim Tae-gyun, who is in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court. The charges specified in the warrant include violation of the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse (production and distribution of obscene materials) and joining a criminal organization.

The decision on whether to detain them is expected to be made late in the afternoon on the same day.

Earlier, the police applied for arrest warrants for them on the 20th. The warrant hearing was originally scheduled for the 22nd but was postponed after one of them requested a delay due to issues with hiring a lawyer, and the schedule was adjusted accordingly.

The police reportedly applied the charge of joining a criminal organization, recognizing that the Baksa Room was not operated solely by the operator Jo Joo-bin (24, detained) but was run with a kind of role division and responsibility, and that these individuals were active as paid members.

If the court establishes the charge of joining a criminal organization against the paid members this time, there is a prospect that this charge could be expanded to all participants in the Baksa Room in the future.

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