(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Mi-ryeong = Life imprisonment was confirmed for Kim Nok-wan (34), who played a leading role in the 'vigilante group', an online-based sexual violence crime group that caused the greatest damage in history.
On the 10th, the 2nd Division of the Supreme Court (Chief Justice Kwon Young-jun, the presiding judge) confirmed the original judgment of Kim Nok-wan, who was indicted on charges of violation of the Youth Sexual Protection Act (production of sexual exploitation material, etc.), violation of the Sexual Violence Punishment Act (filming using cameras, etc.), violation of the Child Welfare Act, forcible molestation, and rape.
A 30-year ban on attachment of electronic devices, a 10-year ban on employment at institutions related to children, youth and the disabled, and a 10-year ban on disclosure and notification of personal information were also maintained.
Kim Nok-wan was found guilty of as many as 25 crimes. He was found not guilty on the charge of organizing and operating a criminal group in the second trial.
The two people who were indicted on charges of participating in crimes while working as so-called 'evangelists' and were judged by the appellate court were sentenced to a long term of 2 years in prison, a short term of 1 year and 6 months, and 2 years and 6 months in prison, respectively.
Kim Nok-wan was arrested and indicted in February last year on charges of organizing the 'Vigilante Group', a cyber sexual violence criminal group that caused the greatest damage in Korea from August 2020 to January of last year, calling himself a 'pastor', sadistically and pervertedly sexually assaulting minors, and producing and distributing sexually exploitative materials.
Vigilantes are a group that finds out the personal information of women who post pictures of their bodies on social media or meet on conditional terms, or of men who try to enter a 'pornographic room' or 'intellectual sex room' on Telegram, then threatens to distribute this information, obtains nude photos, etc., produces and distributes sexually exploitative materials, and even summons some victims and actually sexually assaults them.
The number of victims was 261, which is more than three times the number of similar incidents in the Telegram โDoctorโs Roomโ incident (73 people). The number of sexual exploitation materials produced by Kim Nok-wan and members of the organization amounts to approximately 2,000.
The first trial sentenced Kim Nok-wan to life imprisonment in November last year.
The remaining 10 defendants, who were also indicted on charges of working as so-called 'senior evangelists', 'evangelists', and 'backup evangelists', ordering crimes, searching for victims, and producing and distributing sexually exploitative materials, were each sentenced to imprisonment or suspended imprisonment.
However, the defendants were found not guilty on charges of membership and activity in a criminal group.
As the remaining defendants participated in the crime under Mr. Kim's threats, considering the circumstances of their participation, period, and structure of the crime, it is difficult to view the 'vigilante group' as a continuous association formed with the common purpose of committing crimes.
In April of this year, the second trial also maintained life imprisonment. The verdict of not guilty on charges of membership and activity in a criminal organization was upheld.
The second trial court said, โThe defendant (Kim Nok-wan) did not have even the slightest respect for human dignity,โ and โIt is difficult to even dare to estimate the physical and mental pain, shame, humiliation, and despair that the victims must have felt during the crime.โ
The second trial court pointed out, "Due to long-term, systematic and repeated crimes, a large number of victims and criminals were created, including victims who did not participate in the crime despite being threatened by the defendant, victims and criminals who could not overcome the threats and participated in the crime as instructed by the defendant, and victims who were not directly threatened by the defendant but suffered the loss of sexual exploitation material or personal information being passed on to the defendant without their knowledge through the participants."
He continued, "During the crime, he ruled over the victims like a king and forced them to submit, completely ignoring and depriving them of their dignity and value as human beings," and added, "For such crimes against human rights, a correspondingly severe punishment is needed."
Furthermore, he said, โFrom a criminal policy perspective, severe punishment is necessary to alert society and prevent copycat crimes.โ
Kim Nok-wan and others appealed the ruling, but the Supreme Court also upheld this judgment.
The Supreme Court stated, โEven taking into account the circumstances asserted in the grounds for appeal, the sentence of life imprisonment cannot be said to be extremely unfair.โ
Jo (36), a woman who worked as an 'evangelist' in a vigilante group, was sentenced to five years in prison by the Supreme Court last June.
