'Baksa Bang' Jo Joo-bin, First Trial This Afternoon... Expected to Appeal for Leniency

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The first formal trial of Jo Joo-bin (24, detained), who was indicted on charges including producing and distributing sexual exploitation materials while operating a Telegram chatroom, will be held on the 11th.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 30 (Presiding Judge Lee Hyun-woo) will hold the first hearing of Jo, the operator of the "Baksa-bang," social service worker Kang, and "Taepyeongyang" Lee Mo-gun at 2 p.m. that day, and plans to call victims as witnesses for a closed examination.

Considering the nature of the case, the court decided to conduct the evidence investigation procedure, which could expose the identity or details of the victims, in a closed session.

Earlier, Jo Joo-bin admitted to most of the main charges such as producing and distributing obscene materials during the trial preparation process but denied some charges including child molestation.

Jo appeared at the first trial preparation hearing but was unable to attend the second hearing after it was confirmed that a correctional officer in the detention center had contact with a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Jo later tested negative.

The witness examination conducted at this trial will relate to the charges denied by Jo’s side during the previous preparation hearing. It is known that Jo’s defense prepared cross-examination content to support their claims during this examination.

Jo also submitted letters of apology to the court about 20 times from the 1st of last month to the 10th of this month. Accordingly, it is expected that while claiming innocence for some charges during the trial, Jo will admit to other charges and appeal for leniency.

Jo was arrested and indicted along with two accomplices on charges of threatening and filming and distributing sexual exploitation videos of 25 women, including 8 children and adolescents, from May last year to February this year.

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