South Korea - The Korea Times

Police release identity of notorious child porn suspect after public outrage

Cho Ju-bin, 25, the primary suspect in the notorious child porn case, leaves the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, March 19. YonhapCho Ju-binA police committee on Tuesday agreed to disclose the identity of a man suspected of blackmailing dozens of victims to perform violent sex acts and selling the content in a mobile group chat room.At least 74 people, including 16 underaged girls, are known to have been exploited in the case that is widely known as the "Nth room case," in which the prime suspect allegedly lured victims into taking naked photos and later threatened them into more gruesome sex acts.Cho Ju-bin, 25, who used the nickname "baksa," which means "doctor" or "guru" in Korean, is accused of distributing and streaming the videos in a group chat room on the messaging service Telegram.Some of the room's up to 10,000 users are suspected of paying Cho as much as 1.5 million won (US$1,195) to view the content in which the suspects were sometimes treated as sex slaves. The payments were reportedly processed via cryptocurrencies.Police have so far tracked down 124 peop

Mar 24, 2020

Police release identity of notorious child porn suspect after public outrage

Face of notorious child porn suspect revealed

Broadcaster SBS has revealed the face of Cho Joo-bin, 25, the notorious child porn suspect. Courtesy of SBSMore than 2 million people have signed an online petition as of Monday demanding the government unveil the identity of a man who allegedly ran a group chat room where photos and videos of violent sex acts, involving underaged victims, were distributed.At least 74 victims are known to have been exploited in the so-called Nth room case, in which a man surnamed Cho allegedly lured victims into taking naked photos and later threatened and exploited them into more gruesome sex acts.Cho, who used the nickname "baksa," which means "doctor" or "guru" in Korean, is accused of distributing the videos in a group chat room on the messaging service Telegram, where some of up to 10,000 users are suspected of paying Cho to watch the videos.Cho reportedly charged the viewers in cryptocurrency, which makes it more difficult for authorities to track down perpetrators compared with other financial payment methods, such as credit cards and mobile phone payments.Police have so far tracked down 124 p

Mar 24, 2020

Face of notorious child porn suspect revealed

President urges thorough probe into Telegram child porn case

Korea University staffer accused of data breach, sexual harassment

Korea University / Korea Times fileBy Jun Ji-hyePolice have booked a staff member of Korea University for accessing personal data of dozens of international students at the college in order to sexually harass them, according to police and school officials Monday.Seoul Seongbuk Police Station said its officials are investigating the Personal Information Protection Act violation by the staff member, identified by only by his last name Park, who has worked at the global service center of the university since March 16. Park allegedly sent text messages on Kakao Talk to about 40 Chinese students at the university, saying things such as “I fell in love with you at first sight,” “I want to learn more about you,” and “I am a good guy.”He began sending such messages from his first day on the job.When several students asked about how he got their contact details, he responded, “I was lucky,” or “I saw it on the school website.”Students who received the messages made a report to the school with the assistance of a student organization.

Mar 23, 2020By Jun Ji-hye

Korea University staffer accused of data breach, sexual harassment

College official suspended for flirting with 40 Chinese students after stealing phone numbers

YonhapBy Jung Min-hoA Korea University official has been suspended for flirting with 40 international students after allegedly stealing their phone numbers from a database.According to police and Korea University, the man is being investigated for allegedly violating the personal information protection law after sending KakaoTalk messages like “I had a crush on you” to 40 Chinese students for several days from March 16 ― the day he started working there.After receiving the messages, some students complained to the school, which reported the matter to police on March 20.A Korea University representative reportedly said the man has been suspended and will be fired eventually.

Mar 23, 2020By Jung Min-ho

College official suspended for flirting with 40 Chinese students after stealing phone numbers

Police nab 124 Telegram sex criminals

A screen captured photo from an online petition page run by presidential office, Monday, shows that more than 2.2 million people have signed the petition demanding the police disclose the identity of a man who allegedly ran an illegal pornographic chat room. / Screen captured from presidential office websiteBy Bahk Eun-jiMore than 100 men have been arrested for allegedly being involved in a group chat room where sexual exploitation and assaults on minors were operated via an app named Telegram Messenger, the police said Monday.According to the National Police Agency, a total of 124 men were arrested as of Friday, including the primary suspect, currently known by his surname Cho and his nickname on Telegram “Baksa (doctor),” who appears to be one of individuals who produced and sold the sexually exploitive video content. The pornography ring on Telegram is also accused of blackmailing women and minors into starring in the videos and selling them to other users on the messenger platform, the police said. A man surnamed Cho, who is suspected of running chat rooms on Telegram

Mar 23, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji

Police consider revealing child porn suspect's identity

Child pornography suspect leaves the Seoul district court in Seoul, Thursday. He was later arrested./ YonhapBy Kim Se-jeongPolice in Seoul are considering revealing the identity of a man who convinced minors to record pornographic videos of themselves which he then distributed using the Telegram messenger service.The suspect was caught Monday and arrested Thursday. Since information about his actions was released, public demand has been growing for his face to be revealed.In most cases, the law prohibits the identity of criminals from being made public in order to protect their rights, but allows for exceptions when the extent of the crime is deemed grave enough or when the police believe it would be in the public interest to disclose the identity. On Wednesday, a petition was filed on Cheong Wa Dae's website asking the police to reveal the suspect's face and other personal information. The petition drew the support of more than 210,000 people as of Thursday. “Please make his face known to the world. He deserves it because he ruined the lives of so many young girls,” the

Mar 20, 2020By Kim Se-jeong

Police consider revealing child porn suspect's identity

Suspects deny hiring hitman to kill Korean businessman in Philippines

YonhapBy Jung Min-hoSuspects in a 2015 contract killing case in the Philippines have denied charges of hiring a hitman to murder a Korean businessman.Speaking to a judge Tuesday before the official trial, lawyers for the two suspects, identified only by their surnames Kwon and Kim, said their clients had no motive for killing the victim, surnamed Park, who ran a hotel at Angeles in the northern Philippines. Park died after a man shot him several times at his office about noon on Sept. 17, 2015. The man escaped in a waiting car. According to the prosecution, Kwon hired the man by using his local connections after taking money from Kim, a big investor in Park's hotel. Kim allegedly harbored a grudge against Park after Kim did not give him the investment returns he promised.After years of hard work by Korea Desk officials in the Philippines National Police, Kwon was apprehended on Jan. 23 and extradited to Korea, where he has been indicted with Kim, who was arrested later in Korea, for aiding and abetting a murder.Investigators are still looking for the killer.The date of the first hear

Mar 18, 2020By Jung Min-ho

Suspects deny hiring hitman to kill Korean businessman in Philippines

Civic group supporting Cho Kuk voice phished of 400 million won

Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk / YonhapBy Jun Ji-hyeA civic group that supports former Justice Minister Cho Kuk has fallen victim to a voice phishing scam that robbed it of about 400 million won ($332,000) donated by its supporters, according to police officials Thursday.A member of the group, identified only by his surname Kim, who has managed an account for support payments, reported the incident to the police in Seoul on Oct. 9. The swindler and the money have yet to be traced, though police have carried out an investigation over the past five months. Kim told the police that he sent 400 million won to several other accounts after being deceived by the swindler over the phone.Police froze Kim's account immediately after his report was made, but the money had already been withdrawn. The civic group, which has collected more than 2 billion won in donations from supporters, is facing criticism as it has concealed the incident from them. Rather, on Oct. 17, just days after the incident, the group said during a YouTube broadcast that the money had been used transparently to hold ralli

Mar 12, 2020

Civic group supporting Cho Kuk voice phished of 400 million won

1,500 undocumented Chinese flee Jeju amid virus fears

Undocumented foreigners, mostly Chinese, wait for the paperwork required to leave Korea, outside the Jeju Immigration Office on Jeju Island, March 3. YonhapBy Jung Min-hoNearly 1,500 undocumented Chinese have fled the Korean island of Jeju in the past six weeks amid coronavirus fears.According to the Jeju Immigration Office Tuesday, 1,492 Chinese nationals without valid visas had applied to leave the island between Feb. 1 and March 8.But so far, only 818 have returned because most airlines had suspended services there. The rest are now waiting for their turn after Spring Airlines, a Chinese budget carrier, decided to resume services temporarily to take them back this week.“My husband and I decided to return to China because it would be safer there,” a Chinese woman, 38, was quoted as saying by Newsis, a local news agency. “We are ready to leave Korea for good.” Since emerging in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December, COVID-19 has spread around the world. Korea is among the worst-affected countries, with more than 7,700 confirmed cases and 61 deaths, as of Wedn

Mar 11, 2020By Jung Min-ho

1,500 undocumented Chinese flee Jeju amid virus fears

Shincheonji followers kill themselves amid public criticism intensifying

A Shincheonji follower jumped to her death in Jeongeup, North Jeolla Province, after a quarrel with her husband about her religion, police said Wednesday. It happened two weeks after another Shincheonji believer killed herself in Ulsan by jumping from her seventh-floor apartment after facing domestic violence that began with her husband's disapproval of her religion. While police are investigating what drove the two to kill themselves, Shincheonji ― a mysterious cult at the center of nationwide criticism for its members' role in spreading coronavirus ― claims they have fallen victim to the “public frame vilifying the religion.” The latest case happened Tuesday night at an 11-story apartment building in Jeongeup. The husband told police his wife jumped to her death from the apartment balcony shortly after they clashed over Shincheonji. She had two children, aged seven and five. Police found no suicide note or anything that could be seen as a will at her home. The husband said he learned seven or eight years ago that his wife was a Shincheonji believer and they had clashed

Mar 11, 2020

Law & Crime