A massive scandal in South Korea has created worldwide outrage.
A Guardian report exposed a massive online sex ring that had lured 58 women and 16 young girls into its web.
Virtual Enslavement
After massive public outrage, local police publicly identified the man as Cho Ju-bin, also known as “baksa” or “doctor.”
More than five million people signed the petition to have his name revealed, forcing the hand of local authorities.
Cho was reportedly blackmailing the women to get them to provide him with degrading and sometimes sexually violent images of themselves.
He would then sell the images via online group chatrooms via Telegram, a messaging service application.
After being taken into custody, Cho stated, “I apologize to those who were hurt by me.
“Thank you for ending the life of a demon that I couldn’t stop.”
How It Worked
Cho was luring women in by offering part-time work.
Once they replied, he would offer them money in exchange for the nude photographs.
After he had the photographs, he would then threaten to publicly reveal their names unless they continued to follow his orders.
In some cases, Cho reportedly made them carve “slave” into their skin to prove to his “fans” that these women belonged to him.
In all, authorities have arrested 124 suspects and 18 operators, with Cho believed to be the ring leader of the group.
Min Gap-ryong, the commissioner-general of the Korean National Police Agency, stated, “Through strict investigation, the police will entirely transform the social apathy to digital sex crime and strongly root out such crime from our society.”
Current sentencing guidelines if found guilty are one year in prison or a fine, a sentence the Korea Herald considers to be a “slap on the wrist.”
