On May 21, the event known as "Seoul University Edition Room N" was exposed. According to the South Korean police on the 21st, the Cybercrime Investigation Section of the Seoul Police Department arrested two major suspects in their 30s on suspicion of violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Law (false video editing and dissemination) and other charges. It is confirmed that they are all graduates of Seoul University.
From July 2021 to April this year, two suspects are suspected of illegally synthesizing pornographic videos by using graduation photos and social media photos of female alumni, spreading them to a chat room on an encrypted instant messaging software, and inviting people with "perversity" to participate. In this incident, at least 12 female victims bravely stood up to the police, but at least 61 actual victims. The 12 identified victims were all students or graduates of Seoul University.
▲ Seoul University Composing pornographic videos also puts pressure on victims
The main suspect is a graduate of Seoul University
"The two praised each other as synthetic experts, forming a close relationship." The South Korean police said that the two suspects described themselves as "synthetic experts", not only making illegal videos, but also using the victims' personal information to accurately pressure them.
It is reported that the two people worked together. One produced an illegal pornographic video targeting Seoul University alumni and provided the personal information of the victim to the other, while the other was responsible for spreading and contacting the victim through telephone calls. The two produced and disseminated 1913 fake videos.
The two main suspects also invited three accomplices with similar sexual habits to spread these pornographic videos or make pornographic videos for their acquaintances and share them in the group chat established by the two. Among the three, one male, also from Seoul University, was arrested for producing and disseminating 2101 fake videos.
▲ Female victims interviewed A female victim revealed that one day in July 2021, her mobile phone was constantly notified, and dozens of pornographic photos and videos poured in. The protagonist in all these photos and videos is herself, and her face is synthesized into the body of other women.
These synthesized pornographic videos and photos were spread to the "chat room", along with personal information such as name and age. The participants of group chat called her "the prey of this season" and made sexual mockery and violence against her. Park Mou, a senior who graduated from the same major as her, sent her a screenshot of the sexual violence for a long time, asking her to respond and make sexual threats and mockery.
"The other party kept confirming the information within three hours, and told me that the police could not catch him, and there was only one way to catch him, 'I'll tell you when you reply'." The female victim recalled that Mr. Park continued: "I can't forget the day when I first saw you... I can't forget what I did when I first saw you..."
The injured women insisted on appealing:
Police restart investigation and detain the mastermind
The female victim learned several months later that there were nearly 20 victims of the same school. "A friend said, 'In fact, not long ago, one of our senior seniors came to me with a composite photo of three of our classmates," she said.
After tracking for two and a half years, the same folk reporting group "Tracking Mission Spark" that exposed the "Room N" incident helped to arrest the mastermind of the "Room N" incident in Seoul University. Yuan Enzhi, a member of the group, disguised as a 30-year-old male who seemed interested in pornographic videos, sneaked into the chat room created by Mr. Park and finally successfully confirmed his identity and location.
Two and a half years ago, 12 female victims of Seoul University asked the South Korean police for investigation. The police closed the case six months later, saying that "no investigation clues that can be judged as relevant have been found, and no relevant data has been found through evidence collection". The victim raised an objection to the Central District Procuratorate of Seoul, but was rejected; The appeal went to the Office of the High Prosecutor, but was again rejected.
Finally, although there was only a "1% chance", the victim submitted a request for reconsideration to the court. The Seoul High Court overturned the verdict of the investigation agency after reviewing the allegations, saying that "it is reasonable to submit the incident for trial".
This year, South Korean police launched a new investigation and detained the suspect Park last month. The police believe that there may be more accomplices and are expanding the scope of investigation.
In the community of Seoul University, there were reactions such as "If anyone suffers similar injuries, please call the police", "I heard that some of the victims are students of the Law School of Seoul University, which is terrible".
Red Star Journalist Deng Shuyi
Edited by Pan Li and Edited by Feng Lingling
