A dispute is brewing over a name-and-shame website called “Digital Prison,” which discloses detailed personal information of those it accuses of being sex offenders and child abusers.

A 20-year-old student from Korea University died in a suspected suicide on Sept. 3 after his personal information was published on the Digital Prison site in July. The student had claimed his innocence and expressed frustration, posting a letter on his school community website saying, “None of the facts posted on the website are true.” He added that he believed his phone may have been hacked after he lent it to someone.

After the incident, the operator of the extrajudicial site commented, referring to the student as “A” via a Telegram messenger notice Sunday, “A’s phone number obtained through a Telegram contact, A’s self-recorded letter of apology, victims’ and acquaintances’ testimony saying A’s voice is certain are all factors that prove him guilty.”

The site operator claimed they had repeatedly asked the student to visit a private digital forensics center to prove the factors wrong, but he did not provide any evidence and simply reiterated his claim emotionally.

Digital Prison is known by its supporters as a shadow justice system operated by anonymous figures acting behind a veil as social judges of sexual criminals. First created in May after growing public anger over a series of lenient sentences by the national judiciary for sex crimes, the site has since gathered the personal information of over 100 alleged offenders. This includes the information of Son Jung-woo, who is believed to be the creator of one of the world’s largest child porn sites, “Welcome to Video.”

However, critics say false accusations can eventually result in social turmoil, causing the spread of rumors and stigmatization to grow. An attorney working in information technology and telecommunications law at a major law firm here commented, “Even if the case turns out to be true, it may still constitute defamation depending on the primary purpose.”

The lawyer, who prefers to remain anonymous, added, “Although the website claims that it represents and works for social justice and greater public interests, the existence of the site itself could turn into a means for a witch hunt battle.”

There have already been cases in which Digital Prison identified the wrong person as a sex offender and released personal information. A medical professor and a former martial arts fighter were previously falsely accused on Digital Prison.

By Kim Hae-yeon (hykim@heraldcorp.com)