Article: National Press Workers Association, ..."illegal hidden camera sharing among reporters"
Source: Media News Today
The National Press Workers Association is urging an investigation into an anonymous controversial 'tokbang' where reporters share illegal hidden cameras and sex crime footage.
A spokesperson from the union ministry revealed on Tuesday, "It's been reported that some reporters have shared illegal footage or prostitution information anonymously in a katalk chat. Sexual crimes have already become a serious social problem so the reporters shouldn't share this data obtained through coverage for purposes other than reporting," he said.
"There are reporters who are trying to cover and eradicate sex-related crimes. Reporters should adhere to the basic code of ethics for reporting and only use this information for reporting purposes. We plan to initiate a strict investigation into these allegations and will take legal action against those who committed such illegal acts."
This report first broke when the Digital Sex Offense (DSO) group posted relevant evidence on Twitter of reporters sharing illegal footage such as "Burning Sun leakage video" in a tokbang. The reporters also actively shared related links to porn sites where cases involving hidden camera filming of entertainers and ordinary people was posted. In the katalks, photos of a victim's death Ahn Hee Jung as well as sexual abuse victims from the Chungnam and Han-sam area were shared. They shared their personal photos, criticized their appearance and engaged in sexual harassment involving specific parts of their body. In addition, they also shared pictures of women who work at prostitution rooms or those that show up on blind dates from a dating app.
According to DSO, the 'Literary Room' requires a password for access. It is a small non-public katalk room where 200 reporters gather anonymously and share various information. To join this room, reporters will go to 'Blind → Information Room → Literary Room' [in kakaotalk]. Non-journalists are able to gain access using their email accounts but will need authentication numbers.
DSO filed an official petition for an investigation into the "South Journalists [DSO name for the reporters]" for the illegal distribution of footage in the National Petition Website here.
So far the petition has been signed by 21,241 people.
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| Screen cap of the DSO petition from the National Petition Website |
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| Left: Dialogue requesting 'Burning Sun' video. Middle: Sharing the illegal footage after the request. Right: Singer Jung Joon Young photographed with women in their underwear |
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| AOA Seolhyun was often mentioned in the chatroom as well |
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| This is a screenshot of a chat room, and male members of the chat room maliciously harass victims of sexual assault. |
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| Continued from above |
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| Above is the response from male journalists when an article about ‘how to report photographs or videos illegally taken and leaked or distributed in group chat room’ was shared. They pretend not to hear the voice of justice, they rather recommend not to use this chat room. |
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| Continued from above |
Below is the original thread posted by DSO on their Twitter account:
1. This is a screenshot of a chat room, and male members of the chat room maliciously harass victims of sexual assault. Surprisingly, their occupation is journalist. They created this chat room, which have been guaranteed their anonymity. In this chat room, pic.twitter.com/WzxmjRX9B4— [DSO] 디지털 성범죄 아웃 (@soraeliminate) April 22, 2019
성폭행 피해자에게 2차 가해를 일삼는 흔한 남자들의 단톡방입니다. 놀랍게도 이들의 직업은 언론인입니다. 따로 익명의 단톡방을 만들어 여성 피해자들의 자료를 공유하며 2차 가해를 서슴지 않고 있습니다. 시간이 좀 걸릴지라도 정리되는대로 내용 추가하겠습니다. 제보 고맙습니다. pic.twitter.com/yRPJonkug6— [DSO] 디지털 성범죄 아웃 (@soraeliminate) April 15, 2019
Additional source: Kookmin Ilbo버닝썬 스너프필름 미성년자 성매매에 관련된 기사https://t.co/a43K0oYWoK— 싸우자 (@sixpointninedik) April 22, 2019
VVIP 6인 조사 관련 청원https://t.co/vriWS6fpIe#버닝썬vip룸동영상 #버닝썬