While Nth Room ringleaders like Cho Joo-bin and Moon Hyung-wook received heavy prison sentences, not a single one of the 340 individuals who purchased sexually exploitative content was jailed. Here why.
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Harsh Sentences for Nth Room Operators
Cho Joo-bin, the notorious operator of the “Doctor’s Room,” was sentenced to 42 years in prison for producing and distributing sexually exploitative videos of minors. Similarly, Moon Hyung-wook, also known as “GodGod,” who operated the infamous “Nth Room,” received a 34-year sentence for his crimes.
These two figures were held accountable for orchestrating one of South Korea’s most disturbing digital sex crime rings, which exploited dozens of minors through the encrypted messaging app Telegram.
340 Buyers Identified—None Imprisoned
In stark contrast to the heavy sentencing of the main perpetrators, none of the 340 individuals who bought and spread these videos were sentenced to jail. According to a report by MBC on May 25, all buyers received either probation or monetary fines after their first trial.
MBC conducted a keyword search using “Telegram” and “exploitation” through the court’s sentencing database. After filtering out severe sexual crimes like physical assault or illegal filming, the network identified 340 individuals who were punished specifically for purchasing or sharing sexually explicit content involving minors.
Here are some examples of what the investigation found:
- One buyer purchased 2,590 child exploitation materials using just a 100,000 won gift card. The court fined this individual 8 million won.
- Another buyer paid 350,000 won via social media to access 50 exploitative items, receiving a 5 million won fine.
Out of the 340 individuals:
- 271 received probation
- 62 were issued monetary fines
- 7 had their sentences postponed, due to the court deeming their crimes “relatively weak” in nature
This leniency is notable given that possession alone of child sexual exploitation material is typically considered a serious criminal offense.
Why Were the Sentences So Lenient?
According to a legal expert interviewed by MBC, judges take into account the degree of participation and relative severity of each individual’s actions. Compared to ringleaders like Cho Joo-bin, these buyers were seen as having a lower level of involvement.
The court also cited various mitigating factors, including:
- Being a first-time offender (reported in 311 cases)
- Age and education status (e.g. “just became an adult,” “college freshman,” “Ph.D. student”)
- “Strong family ties” or perceived potential for rehabilitation
Ultimately, the court did not sentence any of the 340 buyers to imprisonment, raising serious public concerns about consistency and fairness in legal accountability for sex crimes involving minors.
Despite widespread public outrage over the Nth Room case and the harsh sentencing of its leaders, the buyers of illegal content—who sustained the system through demand—escaped with minimal consequences. This disparity has sparked renewed debates over sentencing standards and the legal treatment of digital sex crimes in South Korea.
You can check it out through the videos below.
Source: dispatch