This May 18, 2020, file photo shows Moon Hyung-wook (C), a key member of a high-profile digital sexual exploitation ring, appearing before the press at the Andong Police Station in Andong, 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap)
The Supreme Court on Thursday finalized prison sentences of 34 years and 15 years, respectively, for two people convicted in a notorious online sex abuse ring case.
The court confirmed the 34-year sentence for Moon Hyung-wook, 24, for coercing 21 women and girls into sharing nearly 3,800 sexually explicit videos of themselves for distribution on a sexual exploitation chat room called Nth Room on Telegram.
It also confirmed the 15-year sentence for Kang Hun, 20, for coercing 18 women and girls to film sexually exploitative materials and distributing them online through Telegram.
The nation was shocked by a string of sexual exploitation cases centered on group chat rooms of the Telegram messenger service last year, prompting the government to announce get-tough measures against digital sex crimes.
Last month, a 42-year prison sentence for Cho Ju-bin, the lead organizer of the ring, was confirmed by the Supreme Court.
After the revelation of the ring, law enforcement authorities have vowed to punish even buyers, advertisers and possessors of child and underage sexual abuse materials, as well as their producers and sellers, and treat any production of digital sexual materials as a felony crime. (Yonhap)
