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Three teens busted for running Telegram channels exploiting women using doxxed info

Published: 27 Apr. 2026, 18:19 Updated: 27 Apr. 2026, 18:25

Items confiscated by the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police for suspects accused of running Telegram channels distributing sexually exploitative material, including a gold bar worth 11 million won, left, and cash worth 7.8 million won. [GYEONGGI NAMBU PROVINCIAL POLICE]

Three teenagers were apprehended for running Telegram chat rooms where they shared sexually exploitative material of women, along with their personal information, police announced on Monday. Two of the accused individuals were also detained.

The suspects, who were neighborhood friends, allegedly opened and operated four private Telegram channels for seven months from September last year to April, according to Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police.

The suspects collected victims’ photos and personal information from participants, added fabricated sexual narratives and distributed them on the channels, called bakjebang in Korean — digital spaces where victims are humiliated and harassed, often by using doxxed information.

Investigators also found sexually exploitative material of children and teenagers, illegally filmed content and deepfake videos produced by participants uploaded to the channels.

One of the suspects first created two channels and began making money from them, leading the other two suspects to open their own channels. The first channel, created in September last year, had 5,519 participants, and the total number of users across the four channels reached around 10,000.

The suspects did not stop at harassing victims — they also built an organized profit model. In exchange for posting ads, they accepted money from operators of illegal online gambling sites and from sellers of SIM cards registered anonymously or obtained illegally, which are often used to avoid identification in crimes.

To keep revenue flowing, the organizers shared advertisers across their channels. A profile released by police also listed an account labeled “archive & partnership inquiries," indicating that the group sought to bring in advertisements.

Profile of a Telegram channel created in September 2025 that was used to upload sexually exploitative images of women. [GYEONGGI NAMBU PROVINCIAL POLICE]

Police launched the investigation in December after receiving a victim’s report, identified the suspects through undercover operations and apprehended them.

Authorities confiscated 7.8 million won ($5,302) in cash and a gold bar worth 11 million won from one suspect and filed a pretrial forfeiture application. The other two suspects said they had already spent their criminal proceeds, and police plan to trace the flow of funds.

All four channels have been shut down following a request to the Korea Communications Standards Commission.

Police are tracking channel participants, as well as operators of gambling sites and illegal SIM card sales channels that requested promotions, and will continue to investigate other similar Telegram channels currently in operation.

“Even if suspects use VPNs, overseas IP addresses or secure messaging platforms, we are tracking and apprehending them through various investigative techniques,” a police official stated. “These bakjebang not only violate victims’ personal rights but are also exploited as conduits for crimes such as gambling, so we will do our utmost to eradicate them.”

The incident mirrors a major online sex crime scheme in 2019, when Korea witnessed the revelation of a large-scale online sex exploitation channel called the "Nth Room," where more than 260,000 members are suspected to have joined and viewed sexually exploitative materials of women, including underage girls.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM YE-JUNG [[email protected]]