The identity of Cho Joo Bin‘s right-hand man in running his Telegram Nth Rooms for sexual abuse has been revealed to be 18-year-old Kang Hoon.
The police held a deliberation meeting earlier today, April 16, to decide whether or not to reveal his identity as he is a minor, but came to the conclusion that the public had to know. This is the first time in Korean history that a suspect that is a minor has had their identity revealed to the public.
The committee that determined the reveal of Kang Hoon’s identity explained that they discussed in-depth the severity of the human rights violations that Kang Hoon could face due to the disclosure of his identity, but in the end, it was decided that his name, age, and face would be revealed to prevent repeat offenses and to fulfill the public’s right to know.
Kang Hoon went by the username “Butta” in the Nth Rooms, and he is believed to have been managing the profits obtained from the chat rooms. The profits were mostly obtained via cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, Monero, and Ethereum. The exact amount of money obtained is undetermined still, but ₩130 million KRW ($105,900 USD) was seized from Cho Joo Bin’s home. He also participated in the recruitment of new members to the chat room.
Kang Hoon is expected to be exposed to the media in full on April 17, when he is sent to prosecution at the Jongno Police Station.
