"Fit Senior Officer"…Active Duty Soldiers and Others Share Illegal Photos on Telegram

Over 700 Gathered for Illegal Filming Inside Military Base
Operated Secretly... Operator Identity Unknown

It has been revealed that illegal recordings, including photos and videos secretly taken of other soldiers' bodies within a unit, were shared in a Telegram chatroom consisting of active-duty soldiers. The number of participants in this Telegram chatroom exceeded 700.

On the 10th, SBS reported that it detected circumstances where about 700 people, appearing to be active-duty soldiers and reservists, gathered in a Telegram chatroom with a title suggesting military-related information sharing, exchanging such recordings. It was identified that hundreds of photos and dozens of videos were posted in this room.

In the chatroom, messages such as "DM if you want to exchange hidden camera or body cam footage" appeared, meaning that those who wanted to share illegally recorded images of others' bodies were asked to contact via direct message (DM). Photos secretly taken of comrades in adjacent rooms in real time or photos taken of other soldiers in the unit’s restroom also appeared.

Telegram chat messages sharing illegal filming materials within a military unit
[Image source=Photo by SBS]

Most of the posts appear to be illegal recordings taken without the victims' knowledge. According to the whistleblower who revealed the existence of this room, when someone said "there is a well-built senior," participants would request, "please upload the senior’s photo," and the room was operated in this manner.

The operator of the chatroom gathered participants through their Twitter account, restricting participation to active-duty soldiers under 30, those scheduled to enlist, or discharged soldiers.

Besides this room, it is known that there is another chatroom for active-duty soldiers with even more restricted participants. This room, which only active-duty soldiers and military officers who verified themselves with last month’s pay slip could join, contained much more explicit posts, including secret videos taken among soldiers in the unit’s barracks.

Due to the posting of illegal recordings, the operation of the chatroom was conducted secretly. The operator posted a link on Twitter, deleted it after 10 minutes, and then posted another link, repeatedly creating second and third rooms to manage participants. Other than having a username meaning "Korean soldier," no other information about the operator is known.

Engaging in inappropriate acts among soldiers within military units is punishable by up to two years in prison under the Military Criminal Act. Regarding this incident, the Ministry of National Defense told SBS, "It is difficult to determine how many units and soldiers were involved," and gave a formal response stating, "We will strictly respond to acts that undermine military discipline and strengthen education for soldiers."

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