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Case of tech CEO detained for workplace ‘gapjil’ fuels spycam porn controversy

Nov. 8, 2018 - 17:51 By Claire Lee
The case of Yang Jin-ho, the CEO of a cloud storage service company who was taken into police custody on Wednesday over allegations of workplace abuse, continued to fuel controversy amid new allegations that he masterminded the sharing of spycam porn on file-sharing sites operated by his companies.

Authorities say porn has been the main source of revenue for Yang, 47, who is also suspected of having paid pornographic content providers to share their illicit footage on WeDisk, a file sharing site that he owns. 

Police sought an arrest warrant for Yang on Thursday, a day after he was arrested and detained over multiple charges including sexual harassment, smoking marijuana and animal abuse. 

Yang Jin-ho (Yonhap)


“I admit my wrongdoing. I am truly sorry,” Yang told reporters before police escorted him into the precinct on Wednesday.

The ongoing police probe was launched after video footage, which seemed to show Yang abusing his employees, went viral online.

The CEO of WeDisk and robot developer K-Technology is seen killing chickens with a crossbow and aggressively ordering an employee to do the same. Authorities believe the footage was filmed in 2016 during a work-related gathering.

In another scene from the footage, Yang appears to be slapping and cursing at an employee in an office. The worker is then apparently forced to kneel down and apologize to Yang.

A university professor also recently alleged that he was beaten by Yang and his acquaintances, as well as his brother, in 2013 because Yang wrongfully believed that his wife was having an affair with him.

The professor stated that after being beaten by a group of people, including Yang, he was forced to swallow Yang’s phlegm that had been spit out. He was also forced to lick Yang’s brother’s shoes, the professor claimed. Before he left Yang’s office, he was forced to take 2 million won ($1,791) in cash from Yang, as a “reward” for being beaten.

The professor says he filed a complaint against Yang with the prosecution, but that Yang was not charged. He still keeps the 2 million won worth of cash from Yang as evidence, the professor added.

Yang is also accused of having deliberately allowed the mass circulation of revenge and spycam porn on WeDisk and Filenori -- the online file-sharing sites operated by his companies -- and earning billions of won from the business.

(dyc@heraldcorp.com)