'Pastor' Kim Nok-wan, leader of a 'sexual-exploitation vigilante group,' receives final life sentence

[Financial News] A life sentence has been finalized for Kim Nok-wan, leader of the Vigilante Corps, a Telegram criminal organization that committed sexual-exploitation crimes against hundreds of male and female victims.
The Supreme Court of Korea's Second Division, with Justice Kwon Young-jun presiding, upheld on the 10th the lower court's life sentence for Kim Nok-wan, who was indicted on charges including organizing a criminal group.
Kim Nok-wan was brought to trial on charges of forming the Telegram sexual-exploitation organization Vigilante Corps from May 2020 through January last year and producing and distributing sexual-exploitation material involving children, adolescents, and adults. He was also accused of directly sexually assaulting some child and adolescent victims.
Investigators found that he built a hierarchical organization and continued the crimes while calling himself the "pastor" and the members "evangelists." There were 234 victims, including children and adolescents, and the number of sexual-exploitation materials produced exceeded 1,700.
The first and second trials had previously sentenced Kim Nok-wan to life in prison. They also ordered 30 years of electronic location monitoring, a 10-year employment ban at institutions related to children, adolescents, and persons with disabilities, and the disclosure and notification of his personal information.
The first-trial court condemned the crimes, saying, "They were extremely perverse, cruel, and vicious," and adding, "They also showed calculated planning in committing crimes while hiding behind anonymity." The court concluded that, given the nature of the crimes and the scale of the harm, Kim Nok-wan needed to be permanently isolated from society.
[email protected] Choi Eun-sol Reporter