Citizens were alarmed after the reports of MBC's Newsdesk on April 13 revealed that minors, entertainers, and politicians were the main subjects for the suspects of the notorious Telegram's "Nth Room."
According to the authorities, private information of four famous girl group members was leaked in the chatroom, as well as an actor and announcer's personal info. The chatroom was the den for sexual trafficking and abuse to minors and women.
The press stated that a person under the name of Choi, who is the accomplice of the main perpetrator Cho Joo Bin in extracting private information of their victims, formerly worked for the government as a social service worker under the Civil Administration Team in Songpa -gu.
With his position, Choi was able to access the records used to issue resident registration. Thus, this includes the person's current location or residency as well as private information, including passport information, driver's license, and many more. This information is said to be delivered to Joo Bin.
In March 2019, the accused Choi leaked information of four members of a popular girl group. In addition to this, Joo Bin didn't only try to invade the private information of the four members, but he also used his conspirator Choi to gain information about Idol A and Idol B's fathers. Another girl group member and actress, C's information was also leaked with the help of Choi.
Choi then revealed that he usually looks upon the personal information of the girl groups' members that he is fond of.
Meanwhile, the main perpetrator of the "Nth Room" has been indicted and will be referred for court trial under the charges of allegedly producing as well as the distribution of explicit and illegal sexual contents in exchange for money.
The later reports said that a total of 260,000 Korean men were involved in the sexual exploitation chatroom, wherein some are paid members of three different rooms in Telegram, varying on the level of the abuse and the amount paid by the user.
Based on the reports, several identified persons have been captured by the police already, as well as the operators of the said chatroom. What is shocking is that the average age of the operators is in their 10s, ranging from 12 years old to 19 years old.
Netizens are worrying about what will happen to these minors, given that the prosecutors and police are debating whether to reveal their names or provide "therapy" and counseling to the 12-year-old operator instead of putting him in jail.
Furthermore, cases of suicides were also recorded involving the men who participated in the chatroom. Previously, a middle-aged man jumped off a bridge. Also, a 28-year-old man, who had photos of the conversation from the chatroom, turned himself to the police after attempting to take his life by drinking poison. He was immediately brought to the hospital and recovered. However, on April 10, he was found dead at his apartment.
