Kim Nok-wan, 33, has been revealed behind the identity of a sex crime ring that has exploited more than 234 individuals since 2020, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency
The leader of a Telegram sextortion ring that preyed on hundreds of victims has been unmasked by police in South Korea.
Kim Nok-wan, 33, has been revealed behind the identity of a sex crime ring that has exploited more than 234 individuals since 2020, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Authorities disclosed the suspect’s name, age, and photos on its website Saturday and the decision to release Kim’s idenity came following a meeting on January 22.
The suspect had sought to block the information by filing a request with the Seoul Administrative Court. However, it was rejected by the court. According to police, Kim, who also called himself “Pastor”, allegedly ran a network of encrypted Telegram chat rooms where he would sexually exploit 234 men and women over four years. 159 of the victims were teenagers. The group ran on the encrypted messaging service Telegram and they would use private information to blackmail dozens of women and children into performing sexually explicit acts on camera.
The arrest comes five years after a Seoul court sentenced the ringleader of the Nth Room, one of the largest online sex trafficking rings in South Korea, to 40 years in jail. The Seoul Central District Court found Cho Ju-bin guilty of violating laws to protect minors from sexual abuse and of operating a criminal ring by producing and selling horrific abusive videos. “The accused has widely distributed sexually abusive content that he created by luring and threatening many victims,” the court said.
The group also ran on the encrypted messaging service Telegram and they would use private information, often obtained illegally, to blackmail dozens of women and children into performing sexually explicit acts on camera, with thousands of users paying cryptocurrency to watch. Police said at least 74 women, including 16 teenagers, were part of the “virtual enslavement” between May 2019 and February 2020.
The ring caused a huge outcry in South Korea, prompting millions of Koreans to sign petitions urging police to release Cho’s identity and investigate the crime ring. Prosecutors had wanted a life sentence as one of his victims said they were “evil” and deserved to be jailed for “2,000 years.” The crime ring consisted of at least 124 suspects. “I apologise to those who were hurt by me,” 24-year-old Cho said as he was led away from a Seoul police station. “Thank you for putting a brake on the life of a devil that could not be stopped.”
