Supreme Court confirms life sentence for leader of Telegram sex crime ring

The Supreme Court has affirmed a life sentence handed to the leader of a Telegram-based sex crime ring, Kim Nok-wan, 34. The court confirmed the lower court's decision to sentence Kim for his role in sexually exploiting 261 individuals, the highest number of victims recorded in a domestic sex crime case in the country.

Kim's sentence also includes the requirement to wear an electronic monitoring device for 30 years, a ban on working at institutions serving children and adolescents, and the publication of his personal information for 10 years. The court's ruling stems from Kim's conviction for leading The Vigilantes, a criminal organization active from August 2020 to January 2025.

During this period, The Vigilantes produced and distributed sexual exploitative videos, coerced victims into appearing in these illicit recordings, and sexually assaulted children and teenagers. The group's modus operandi involved blackmailing men and women into submitting nude photographs, which were then used to create and disseminate sexual exploitation videos.

This case is particularly significant as it surpasses the scale of the notorious Baksabang case from 2019-2020, where Cho Joo-bin was responsible for blackmailing 73 individuals into making child and adolescent pornography.