K-pop stars and other South Korean celebrities have taken to social media to voice their anger and urge the public to sign petitions aimed at revealing and punishing those involved in the “Nth Room” sex crimes scandal that has shaken the country.
Nth Room refers to a group on encrypted messaging application Telegram where graphic videos of violent sex acts – many involving underage girls – were shared to more than 260,000 members, who had paid in cryptocurrency to join the group and access content in an attempt to remain anonymous.
On March 20, the main administrator of the Telegram group was arrested and – after pressure from the public – was named as Cho Joo-bin, otherwise known in the chat rooms as “Baksa” or “Doctor”.
The 24-year-old communications graduate was handed to prosecutors on March 25 and is facing charges of threats and coercion, abuse, and violations of the sexual abuse act, the privacy act, and the child protection act.
2PM’s Junho voiced his concerns about the scandal on social media after Cho’s arrest.
“I only want to use my personal space to share happiness and have never shared any personal opinion here and will keep doing so in the future. But for the ‘Nth Room’ case, I think it is time,” he said.
“It is necessary to punish the suspects. More people need to be alert to this to prevent the spread and so that crimes like this won’t happen again. I hope that the real nature of this incident will be brought to light and end with a proper result.”
Exo members Baekhyun and Chanyeol posted Instagram stories with links to two petitions aimed at revealing and punishing all the perpetrators involved in the scandal. One of the petitions has gained more than 2 million signatures.
In an Instagram post before the naming of Cho Joo-Bin, Korean actress Son Soo-Hyun wrote:
“I call for strong punishment. If such unethical behaviour ends with just a few years in prison, I really won’t hold myself back. Reveal their personal information and [reveal their faces in front of the press].
“We should catch all of the 250,000 [sic] participants and shame them so they won’t be able to re-enter society. I can’t help but say terrible things.”
Hyeri from Girl’s Day also expressed her concern about the scandal in a screenshot on her Instagram story indicating that she had signed the petition.
“I am completely furious and I am terrified. I hope they will be punished severely,” she wrote in the post.
Police commissioner general Min Gap-ryong and minister of gender equality and family Lee Jeong-ok have since responded to both petitions.
Min acknowledged that serious crimes had been committed and assured the public that the police would conduct a thorough investigation into everyone involved.
“I promise to track down and arrest producers, distributors, as well as those who participated and helped, by taking all possible measures with the determination to completely eradicate these vicious criminal acts,” he said.
Lee said that his ministry was stepping up efforts on its Digital Sex Crime Response System and urged the public to stop sharing the videos online.
Other celebrities who have shown support for the petitions and voiced concerns about the scandal include Eric Nam, Yoo Seung-woo, Moon Ga-young, Ha Yeon-soo, former Wonder Girls member Hyerim and 2AM’s Jo Kwon.
South Korea has seen a string of sex scandals in the past year, including the sex and drugs scandal at Seoul’s Burning Sun nightclub, followed by the uncovering of a chat room run by K-pop stars including Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon where videos of unconscious women being raped were shared.
A report by news site Quartz said members involved in the Nth Room case were only allowed to gain access to the chat rooms after paying 1.2 million Korean won (US$980) and passing a preliminary test in a gateway chat room, where they had to upload original content showing sexual abuse.
Cho and other suspects allegedly lured a range of females, including minors, into the chat rooms by tricking them with offers of modelling work or escorting. They would eventually blackmail the victims with alleged private photos and personal data and force them into filming sexual content.
The blackmailed victims were forced to conduct a range of graphic and extreme sex acts such as inserting scissors into their vaginas, cutting their nipples, carving the word “slave” into their skin, being gang-raped, and eating their own faeces, among others. It has been revealed that there are at least 74 female victims, including 16 underage girls.
So far, the National Police Agency has arrested 124 suspects, and 18 of the chat room operators – including Cho – are in custody. But user GodGod, who is said to have initially started the chat rooms, is still at large.
According to K-pop blog Allkpop, a well-known start-up CEO, sports star, professor, celebrity and other high-profile individuals are said to be members of the Nth Room, but their names have yet to be revealed.
