South Korea investigates chatroom sex abuse allegations

South Korean suspect Cho Ju-bin is surrounded by reporters as he is transferred to a prosecutor's office, at a police station in Seoul on March 25, 2020. - AFP

SEOUL (AP): South Korean prosecutors on Wednesday (March 25) began reviewing whether to formally charge a man arrested last week on allegations that he operated secret chatrooms where he posted sexually abusive videos of blackmailed women in return for cryptocurrency payments.

The allegations have triggered intense public uproar and soul-searching over a culture that critics say is lenient about sexual violence and continuously fails the victims, prompting President Moon Jae-in to call for thorough investigation and stern punishment for operators of such chatrooms and their users.