Nth Room case

The "Nth Room" case[1] (Korean: n번방 사건) is a criminal case involving blackmail, cybersex trafficking, and the spread of sexually exploitative videos via the Telegram app between 2018 and 2020 in South Korea.[2][3] A man nicknamed god god (later identified as Moon Hyung-wook, 문형욱) sold sexual exploitation videos on Telegram channels and groups.

A copycat crime, known as the "Doctor's Room", (박사방; 博士房; baksabang) was operated by a man using the screen name Doctor (박사; Baksa, later identified as Cho Ju-bin[4][5]), who is accused of blackmailing dozens of women, forcing them to take sexually exploitative videos, with some involving rape.[6][7][8][9]

The number of confirmed victims is at least 103, including 26 minors.[10][11] It was revealed that the victims' pictures were shared and sold to over 260,000 IDs (narrowed down to about 60,000 users, taking into consideration overlapping profiles)[12] and were paid for anonymously in cryptocurrency.

A Netflix documentary about the case, entitled Cyber Hell: Exposing An Internet Horror, was released in 2022.

[5] In 2021, the press stated that the accounts on many platforms were not real. From 2021 to 2024, the site named 'nth room' was closed 5 times.

  1. ^ "Telegram sex offender's case sent to prosecution". The Korea Herald. Seoul. Yonhap News Agency. March 25, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  2. ^ "성착취물 제작‧유포 텔레그램 ｢박사방｣ 운영자 검거" (Press release) (in Korean). Seoul: Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  3. ^ SHIN Sua (신수아) (March 20, 2020). "Distributing pornography by telegram ... 'Dr. Bang' was caught". MBC News (in Korean).
  4. ^ "Face of notorious child porn suspect revealed". The Korea Times. Yonhap News Agency. March 24, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Begum, Haneesa (March 30, 2020). "K-pop stars speak out on Nth Room, Telegram porn scandal, urging strong punishment for those involved". South China Morning Post. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  6. ^ Laura Bicker (March 25, 2020). "Cho Ju-bin: South Korea chatroom sex abuse suspect named after outcry". BBC News.
  7. ^ Min Joo Kim (March 25, 2020). "South Korea identifies suspected leader of sexual blackmail ring after uproar". The Washington Post. Seoul.
  8. ^ Justin McCurry (March 25, 2020). "Outrage in South Korea over Telegram sexual abuse ring blackmailing women and girls". Guardian. Tokyo.
  9. ^ Choe Sang-Hun (March 25, 2020). "Suspect Held in South Korean Crackdown on Sexually Explicit Videos". The New York Times. SEOUL, South Korea.
  10. ^ "Ruling party, gov't push for abolishing statute of limitations for child sex crime". Yonhap News Agency. April 6, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  11. ^ Yuexin, Li (March 27, 2020). "South Korean "The Nth Room": Digital Sex Offenses Sprawls Along Social Media". The Organization for World Peace. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  12. ^ Yoon, So-yeon; Hill, Alannah (March 29, 2020). "[DEBRIEFING] 'Nth room': A digital prison of sexual slavery". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved December 20, 2020.