The head of the criminal group "Chamgyoyukdan," accused of luring victims online with the bait of "acquaintance humiliation," then coercing sexual exploitation such as nude pledges, has been arrested by police.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Cyber Crime Investigation Division 3 said on the 7th that it arrested and referred without detention A, 21, who is suspected of serving as a co-leader of "Chamgyoyukdan," on the 19th of last month.
Along with co-leaders B and C, A posted advertisements on social media (SNS) from July 2020 to March 2021 saying things like "We will create 'acquaintance humiliation' composite photos." After seeing this, those who requested composites were threatened, and sexual exploitation materials were produced, police said, and A is suspected of crimes including being part of a criminal organization, joint extortion and coercion, and producing sexual exploitation materials. The number of victims totals 342.
A, B, and C were found to have formed "Chamgyoyukdan" on Telegram after working as mid-level managers (armbands) on Telegram channels such as "Juhonggeulssi" and "Digital Prison," which emerged after the 2020 "Baksa-bang" and "Nth Room" cases.
The group set up three divisions—investigation, intelligence, and administration—beneath the leadership and divided roles for tasks such as scouting, luring, threatening victims, and producing sexual exploitation materials. They also demanded nude pledges, saying they would tell acquaintances that the victims had commissioned "acquaintance humiliation," monitored victims' daily lives, and forced them to write reflections. Some victims were even recruited as members of the organization.
The group collapsed when 63 members, including C, were arrested by the South Chungcheong Provincial Police Agency in Aug. 2021. Investigations into A and B were suspended without their arrest, but while the Seoul agency was investigating the "Moksabang" case and the "Chamsuridan" case starting in Nov. 2023, it tracked down A's whereabouts and arrested the suspect. The pursuit of B is ongoing. In Feb. 2023, C's 13-year, 6-month prison sentence was finalized.
Police also arrested a large number of cybersex crime suspects who produced sexual exploitation materials, illegal recordings, and fake videos, including one suspect who produced and sold 1,439 sexual exploitation files targeting 20 children and teenagers and issued threats.
By type, suspects who produced child and teen sexual exploitation materials were the most numerous at 148 (35.4%). They were followed by illegal recordings at 107 (25.6%), fake videos at 99 (23.7%), and other illegal sexual videos at 64 (15.3%).
Police said, "As a result of the crackdown, cybersex crimes linked to stalking have recently occurred, and the production of fake videos using artificial intelligence (AI) bots continues to occur." They urged that if you suffer cybersex crime damage, promptly call 112 or contact the Seoul Digital Sex Crime Support Center (☎02-815-0382) or the National Digital Sex Crime Support Center (☎1336).
These results come from the Korean National Police Agency's National Office of Investigation (NOI) conducting the "2025 cybersex crime intensive crackdown" for one year from Nov. 1 last year to the 31st of last month. Police arrested 418 people and detained 28 through the crackdown.