20s man threatened a minor with non-existent sexual relationship video

A man in his 20s has been fined in court for threatening a minor using a non-existent sexual relationship video as leverage.

This man, who was providing a "proxy threat" service on an online platform, threatened the victim based on a video that did not actually exist, highlighting once again the seriousness of cybercrime.

Threatening the victim based on a video that does not actually exist

According to legal circles, the Seoul Eastern District Court's Criminal Division 5 (Presiding Judge Yang Jin-ho) sentenced Mr. Lee (27), who was indicted for threats, to a fine of 5 million won on the 10th.

The court stated that if Mr. Lee fails to pay the fine, he will be held in labor detention at a rate of 100,000 won per day.

Provision of "proxy threat" service on Telegram and X

The incident dates back to June of last year.

Mr. Lee posted on the Telegram and X (formerly Twitter) platforms, saying, "If you provide me with the weaknesses and personal information of acquaintances, I will threaten them on your behalf." An anonymous user took up this illegal "service" offer and provided Mr. Lee with the victim’s Instagram account information, asking him to threaten the victim as if there was a sexual relationship video.

In response, Mr. Lee approached the minor victim with messages such as, "I have a video of you and your ex-boyfriend," "Can I just spread this around?" "There have been bad rumors since middle school," and "I’m going to show it to your school friends," exerting psychological pressure.

However, it was revealed that no such video actually existed and that false information was merely spread for the purpose of intimidation.

Court acknowledges threatening expressions but chooses a fine

The court noted in its ruling that the messages sent by Mr. Lee clearly had a threatening nature.

However, considering that the video used as the basis for the threat did not actually exist and that the defendant had shown efforts to restore the victim's situation, a fine was ultimately imposed.

Image source: Reference photo for the understanding of the article / gettyimagesbank