Photo : YONHAP News / Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency
An appellate court has upheld a sentence of life imprisonment for the leader of a crime ring that sexually exploited more than 260 people.
The Seoul High Court issued the ruling on Wednesday for Kim Nok-wan, who was found guilty of sexual assault, operating a criminal organization, and producing and distributing sexually exploitative and illegally recorded materials.
The high court also ordered the online publication of his identity for ten years, a ten-year ban on employment at facilities linked to children and adolescents, and 30 years of wearing a tracking device.
In issuing the ruling, the court said there is no doubt that the defendant’s perverse and cruel actions brought deep shame to his victims, adding that Kim completely disregarded the victims’ dignity and his inhuman crime warranted a severe penalty.
Kim was convicted of organizing and operating the Telegram-based network “The Vigilantes” between 2020 and January of this year, during which time he obtained victims’ personal information and blackmailed them into providing nude photos.
Kim was also found to have sexually assaulted minors and produced and distributed approximately two-thousand exploitative photos and videos.