A South Korean court has handed down a life imprisonment sentence to the mastermind behind the nation's largest known online sexual exploitation ring, which operated through the encrypted messaging app Telegram.
The Crimes of 'The Vigilantes'
On Monday 24 November 2025, the Seoul Central District Court convicted Kim Nok Wan, 33, for orchestrating a vast criminal network known as 'The Vigilantes'. The court found that Kim, who used the alias 'Pastor', created the channel in 2020 and systematically coerced at least 261 people into producing explicit material.
The ring's operation was marked by its particular cruelty towards the young, with court documents revealing that nearly 150 of the victims were minors. Kim and his accomplices used blackmail to force victims into creating sexually exploitative content, which was then distributed in paid online chat rooms.
A Pyramid of Abuse
The criminal organisation functioned under a pyramid hierarchy, encouraging members to recruit new victims or share abusive material to climb its ranks. This structure enabled the ring to operate from May 2020 until January 2025, making it significantly larger than a previous notorious case.
The scale of Kim's operation was triple that of the 'Doctor's Room' ring run by Cho Ju Bin, which had previously been considered the country's most extensive online sexual exploitation case.
The court convicted Kim on multiple severe charges, including:
- Organising and operating a criminal organisation
- Producing and distributing illegally filmed sexual exploitation material
- Committing 'quasi-rape' - defined as sexual assault of an individual unable to resist
Severe Punishment and Lasting Impact
In delivering the life sentence, the court stated that Kim had committed crimes of 'extreme brutality' over four to five years. It highlighted that despite Kim's claims of remorse, 'most victims have not recovered from the harm'.
The judgement included several additional measures designed for public safety and accountability:
- Publication of Kim's crime details on information networks for 10 years
- A 10-year employment ban in relevant fields
- 30 years of electronic monitoring
Specific details revealed in court showed the depth of Kim's depravity. He was found guilty of raping 16 victims, including 14 minors, and producing over 1,700 child and adolescent sexual exploitation materials. In one particularly vicious instance, he sent a video of a victim to their father through an accomplice and threatened to release it at their workplace.
The court emphasised that 'considering the brutality of the crimes and the lack of restitution for victims, it is necessary to permanently isolate him from society'. This ruling comes as South Korean authorities grapple with increasing digital sex crimes, with the court noting that 'as similar crimes are rapidly increasing in our society, the need for severe punishment is critical'.
The case echoes the 2020 sentencing of Cho Ju Bin, who received 40 years in prison for blackmailing at least 74 people, including 16 minor girls, in a case that shocked the nation and highlighted the growing problem of digital sexual exploitation.
