Son Jung-woo, Operator of Welcome to Video, Admits to Crime Proceeds Concealment and Gambling Charges

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Son Jeong-woo (26), who operated the child sexual exploitation material sharing website 'Welcome to Video,' admitted all charges of concealing criminal proceeds in court.

Son's defense attorney stated at the first trial held on the 12th under Judge Cho Soo-yeon of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 5, "We admit all the charges." When the court asked Son, "Do you agree with your attorney's statement?" Son replied, "Yes."

Son was prosecuted for making it difficult to trace and detect approximately 400 million KRW earned from selling child sexual exploitation materials by converting it into cash through multiple cryptocurrency accounts and using his father's bank accounts, among others, in violation of the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds. He is also charged with gambling about 5.6 million KRW of the laundered profits on an online gambling site.

Son was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison for creating the 'Welcome to Video' site on the dark web from 2015 to 2018 and trading child sexual exploitation materials. He was released after serving his sentence. Although he was also indicted in the United States, in 2020, the Korean court denied extradition, so he was not sent to the U.S. During the extradition review process, Son's father directly filed complaints and accusations against his son at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for violating the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds, aiming to prevent his son's extradition to the U.S.

The court decided to hold another trial on the 9th of next month to review the evidence records.

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