Police have arrested a programmer and an alleged accomplice accused of distributing more than 110,000 sexually explicit videos, including footage filmed without consent, across 23 websites.
The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police said Thursday that they referred the two suspects to the prosecution on charges of distributing the illegal content for profit and circulating it online.
The two allegedly posted the videos on websites they operated and earned about 70 million won ($52,141) from banner ads for illegal gambling and prostitution services between May last year and August.
Police said the programmer built the websites and oversaw their operation, while the alleged accomplice recruited advertisers and managed the content and proceeds.
The pair allegedly used overseas servers and separate landing pages to avoid the government's radar. When authorities blocked one of their main websites, they changed the address and directed users to the new site through a landing page.
They initially operated two websites but later expanded their network to 23 to boost advertising revenue. All 23 have since been blocked.
Police are tracking cryptocurrency transactions and other proceeds as they continue to investigate whether additional suspects were involved.
junheee@heraldcorp.com
