Crying Son Jeong-woo "I will accept any punishment in Korea"... Decision on extradition next month

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] The decision on whether to extradite Son Jeong-woo (24), the operator of the world's largest child sexual exploitation site 'Welcome to Video,' to the United States will be made next month. The court reviewing the necessity of extradition plans to announce the final decision after the hearing on the 6th of next month.

The Criminal Division 20 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Kang Young-soo) held the second extradition hearing for Son on the morning of the 16th and stated, "We initially planned to decide on extradition immediately after today's hearing, but due to the large volume of submitted investigation documents, we will postpone the decision to next week," adding, "We will hold one more hearing session."

The court further explained, "Although the Criminal Extradition Act stipulates that the decision on extradition must be made within two months from the date of detention, sufficient hearings must be conducted to guarantee the defendant's right to defense."

The second hearing for the extradition review to decide whether Son Jung-woo, the operator of the world's largest child sexual exploitation site "Welcome to Video," will be sent to the United States is being held on the 16th at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Son is sitting in the defendant's seat, waiting. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

◆Defense attorney reverses not guilty stance under the same logic = This hearing was the second since last month, following the extradition request based on international money laundering charges under the treaty between South Korea and the United States. The hearing focused on the charges related to concealment of criminal proceeds, which were excluded when Son was prosecuted for distributing child sexual exploitation materials.

The defense argued, using similar logic as in the previous hearing, that extradition to the U.S. is not possible. The defense stated, "There is no guarantee from the U.S. that Son will not be punished again for charges already punished domestically," emphasizing that such a guarantee is necessary. This argument was based on Article 10 of the Criminal Extradition Act.

He also said, "The defendant is a South Korean citizen, and the crime occurred domestically, which constitutes a discretionary ground for refusal. The investigation into the charges has been completed, and since Son's father has filed a complaint, once prosecution occurs, he can be punished domestically." The Criminal Extradition Act categorizes grounds for refusal into three types: political nature cases, absolute grounds, and discretionary grounds.

However, the defense reversed the not guilty position stated in the previous hearing. He explained, "In the last hearing, we argued there was no intent to conceal regarding the charges," adding, "This effectively meant acknowledging the charges." In the previous hearing last month, when the court asked if he was claiming innocence due to insufficient evidence, the defense answered "Yes."

The second hearing for the extradition review to decide whether Son Jung-woo, the operator of the world's largest child sexual exploitation site "Welcome to Video," will be sent to the United States was held on the 16th at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. The press is waiting for the trial to begin inside the broadcast courtroom. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

◆"Cannot be sent to the U.S. due to prosecution's mistake" = During the hearing, a dispute arose over why the prosecution excluded the concealment of criminal proceeds charge, which formed the basis for the U.S. extradition request, at the time of indictment.

The defense argued, "The prosecution secured sufficient evidence through the defendant's active cooperation, and if the indictment had been done by artificial intelligence (AI) or a computer, this charge would not have been omitted," adding, "If this charge had been indicted, the defendant would not have been subject to the extradition request." The defense claimed that extraditing Son to the U.S. belatedly due to the prosecution's mistake in not indicting was inhumane.

The prosecution countered, "The defense is making a retrospective judgment that the prosecution could have acted earlier but did not," and stated, "Reviewing the case records shows that the prosecution's focus at the time was on confiscating and seizing remaining proceeds from child and youth pornography that had been transferred." They explained that additional investigation was necessary for indictment and that the investigation focus was different. The prosecution added, "Retrospective judgments can make anything possible," and criticized, "If that were the case, everything should have been handled omnisciently."

The second extradition hearing to decide whether Son Jung-woo, the operator of the world's largest child sexual exploitation site "Welcome to Video," will be sent to the United States was held on the 16th at the Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. The press is waiting for the trial to begin inside the live broadcast courtroom. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

◆Son Jeong-woo breaks down in tears during final statement Son, who was absent at the previous hearing, appeared in court this time to observe the judicial proceedings. Wearing a yellowish-brown prison uniform and a white mask, he mostly stared straight ahead during the approximately one-hour hearing. He did not look toward the gallery where his father and other family members were seated.

When the court asked for his position regarding the U.S. extradition request, Son said, "If I can be tried in Korea, I will accept any heavy sentence," adding, "I want to stay in Korea where my family is."

At the end of the hearing, when the court gave him a final opportunity to speak, he showed tears and said, "I am truly sorry for causing great harm to society because of my wrongdoing." He continued, "I am very ashamed and have no pride, but if I can be punished again in Korea, I will accept any heavy sentence. I never thought this would be the end, but during this time..." He broke down and could not finish his sentence.

After regaining composure, Son said, "I wandered and wasted my days with computers, games, and the internet, but I really want to live properly. I am very sorry for not spending much time with my father," wiping away tears.

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