The
Nth Room Case.
Written by Yebin Sim
The harrowing 2019 film exposé Nth Room Case, shook South Korea with its exhaustive unveiling of the disturbing reality of online grooming and sexual abuse in the nation. Prompted by an anonymous message to take investigative action, courageous journalist Kim Wan fearlessly pursued the Nth Room Case, unearthing a network of Telegram group chat rooms where underage teenagers fell victim to unimaginable sexual coercion and exploitation. This paper delves into the intricate details of the Nth Room case and sheds light on the perpetrators' cunning, exploitative tactics, and the profound damage they left on countless victims with their cruelty. Additionally, this paper discusses the subsequent actions taken by the South Korean government post-Nth Room to prevent online grooming and emphasizes the urgency to continue battling against online grooming to safeguard potential victims in the digital age.
The Nth Room Case is an incident that exposed the sinister world of online grooming and the illegal dissemination of sexually exploitative materials in South Korea in 2019. It all began with an anonymous tip-off to journalist Kim Wan from the Hankyoreh newspaper. The tip revealed that a high school student from Incheon was circulating child sexual exploitation material within a Telegram group chat consisting of approximately 9,000 members.
Following this revelation, Kim Wan reported on November 10, 2019, about the exclusive story involving underage teenagers sharing illegal sexual exploitation videos in secret Telegram rooms. Little did he know that this report would lead to retaliation from the users of these Telegram rooms, who sought to expose his personal information and sell it.
The online grooming perpetrators employed cunning methods to approach their victims. They targeted financially vulnerable women seeking jobs or in need of money, and they lured underage youths with promises of gifts or phones. They initiated conversations on various social platforms and shared their Telegram IDs, enticing victims to enter the secret Telegram rooms. Once there, they requested body photos or selfies to confirm the victims' identities. Later, they extorted the victims by demanding personal information, including bank account numbers, and threatening to share intimate photos if the demands were not met. In some cases, the perpetrators even took pictures of the victims in front of their homes to intensify the coercion.
One crucial aspect of this case was the exploitation of Telegram's unique features. Telegram, designed to evade Government surveillance, boasts strong security measures and makes IP tracking difficult. Additionally, the secret chat feature ensures that conversation records do not remain on servers, making evidence tampering easier for those distributing illegal content. The platform's self-destruct timer also provided a false sense of security to victims, who were assured that images sent would be deleted immediately. This allowed the perpetrators to constrain their victims further. The mastermind Moon Hyeong-wook behind the Nth Room, using the nickname "GodGod," opened the first room and expanded the operation by sharing illegal content from subsidiary rooms. In one chatroom, he even instructed victims to brand themselves with the phrase "I am GodGod's slave" using pens and knives.
Subsequently, another individual called "Doctor" Cho Ju-bin (nicknamed "Baksa" in Korean) engaged in similar activities starting in August 2019, advertising and selling explicit content on Telegram. These sexual exploitation materials were shared with an undetermined number of people in secret Telegram rooms, leading to real-time public lynching of victims as their personal details were shared. "Doctor" managed to profit 130 million KRW ($102,000) through the sale of this content.
Uncovering the truth behind these illegal distributors were two university students acting under the pseudonym "Team Flame." Through their investigative journalism, they discovered the existence of the Nth Room and reported it to the local police in July 2019 and subsequently to the Hankyoreh newspaper in November. They uncovered that not only did Room A exist, but there were Rooms B, C, D, E, and Rooms 1 to 8, where a staggering 20GB of illegal materials were shared. Following the revelation of the Nth Room Case in early 2020 through public broadcasting, more people paid attention, and the incident became a subject of national debate. "Doctor" was arrested on March 16, 2020, with the help of his previous voice phishing records. Meanwhile, "GodGod," with his IP traced and the discovery of discarded phones, was arrested on May 12, 2020. In October 2021, "Doctor" received a 42-year sentence, while "GodGod" received a 34-year sentence in November of the same year. In total, 3,757 individuals were arrested, with 245 of them being detained in connection with the Nth Room crimes.
Following the revelation of the Nth Room Case in early 2020 through public broadcasting, more people paid attention, and the incident became a subject of national debate. "Doctor" was arrested on March 16, 2020, with the help of his previous voice phishing records. Meanwhile, "GodGod," with his IP traced and the discovery of discarded phones, was arrested on May 12, 2020. In October 2021, "Doctor" received a 42-year sentence, while "GodGod" received a 34-year sentence in November of the same year. In total, 3,757 individuals were arrested, with 245 of them being detained in connection with the Nth Room crimes.
Data on 315 cases related to sexual material dissemination revealed that the most common punishment was a monetary penalty, accounting for 50.5% of the cases, with an average fine of 3.06 million KRW ($2400). It is evident that online grooming and illegal sexual exploitation cannot be treated lightly, and stricter punishments should be enforced. Moreover, only 6 out of 51 cases (11%) resulted in sentencing related to illegal filming and distribution, highlighting the need for immediate confiscation or destruction of such materials upon reporting.
In the aftermath of the law revisions, a potential second Nth Room offender Lee Sung-il, known as "L," was arrested in Australia on November 23, 2022, underscoring the urgency for society and the government to address online grooming and implement effective measures to alleviate the suffering and anxiety of victims.
In conclusion, the Nth Room Case exposed the dark underbelly of online grooming and illegal sexual material dissemination in South Korea. Through the efforts of journalists and activists, the perpetrators were brought to justice, and the government introduced measures to prevent future incidents. However, ongoing vigilance and further action are required to combat online grooming and protect potential victims from falling prey to this heinous crime.
The Nth Room left an indelible and painful mark on victims of online grooming. In response to the case, the South Korean government revised seven bills to prevent similar incidents from recurring. Notably, on February 26, 2020, the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sex Offenses was amended to introduce new laws as the harbinger of positive change in punishing online groomers. The revised legislation included explicit mentions of the term “online grooming,” allowed the police force to investigate online grooming cases undercover (e.g. interacting with online grooming predators using the identity of an underage girl to gather more evidence of online grooming), and increased the sentence length of online grooming predators. It even imposed a fine of up to 30 million KRW. Starting September 24, 2021, new legislation sentencing online grooming predators to a maximum of three years of punishment went into effect.
Furthermore, the South Korean government enforced an Internet Censorship and Monitoring law starting October 10, 2021. The development of the database and the technology filtering illegal filming content were carried out based on the Telecommunications Business Act. The method involves extracting characteristic values from videos using deep learning and comparing them with the database of illegal filming content to filter out such material. This filtering was implemented specifically in the open chat rooms of KakaoTalk, which is South Korea's leading mobile messaging app.
However, despite these efforts, some concerns have been raised by industry insiders. The development of the video filtering technology was not completed until late August 2021, about three months before the law's enforcement, and even then, it lacked sufficient pre-testing in real-service environments. Many critics also point out that this filtering technology itself may not effectively prevent the spread of new illegal filming content. Since the database used for comparison is generated from previously detected or reported videos, it lacks the ability to filter out new types of content that are not present in the database. As technology does not involve direct human oversights in video comparison, there is a possibility of technological errors. Moreover, the biggest problem was that the Telegram app, which was a significant concern, is managed overseas and does not cooperate with the South Korean government. Telegram was excluded from the requirements, and the filtering technology was only enforced on domestic companies like Kakao and Naver. Also, private conversations in KakaoTalk, including one-on-one open chats, were not subject to this filtering. The filtering technology was only limited to videos, moving images, and compressed files exchanged in open group chat rooms.
While the South Korean government's efforts to combat online grooming and illegal filming are commendable, it is essential to further refine and improve technological solutions to address emerging challenges. Continued efforts and improvements are necessary to stay ahead of the spread of illegal filming material and protect the vulnerable from online harm, ultimately creating a safer online environment for all.