CCTV Footage Showing Elderly Sexual Assault Released... Viewers Protest, Calling It "Secondary Victimization Preservation"

On the 22nd, SBS's "Curious Story Y" aired CCTV footage showing a village chief sexually harassing an elderly person over 80 years old, with the video mosaic-processed. Photo by "Curious Story Y" broadcast capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] SBS current affairs program 'Curious Story Y' aired the story of an 85-year-old elderly woman who was sexually assaulted by the village chief, revealing the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage capturing the assault. Viewers responded with complaints, calling it "secondary victimization documentation."

On the 22nd, SBS 'Curious Story Y' reported on an incident where Mr. Park, the village chief of a rural village, sexually assaulted a grandmother over 80 years old.

The CCTV footage installed at the grandmother's house showed Mr. Park visiting her home in July last year and opening the door. While talking, Mr. Park touched parts of the grandmother's body and continued to visit her house to commit further molestation.

The program's production team broadcast the sexual assault CCTV footage as it was. After the broadcast, the viewer message board was flooded with criticism directed at the production team.

One viewer said, "They aired the victim's CCTV footage on TV as is. Although it was pixelated, you could still clearly see what was happening, and it made me feel uneasy the entire time."

They added, "Couldn't they have replaced it with a reenactment scene? If I were the victim, I think I would have been more hurt after watching the broadcast."

Another viewer stated, "If you show the CCTV footage like that, wouldn't the family, especially the grandmother, recall that situation again? All sexual assault cases are said to cause the victim to relive the trauma, which is like killing them twice," criticizing the broadcast.

Meanwhile, Mr. Park is reportedly still active as the village chief and expressed his grievances to the production team during filming. He claimed, "The elderly woman said she missed men," and "There is no evidence; it's just hearsay." Mr. Park's wife also said, "That grandmother behaved like that at other houses too," and "She is trying to extort money from us."

Mr. Park's sexual assault case was dismissed without prosecution. The police stated, "It was difficult to consider the series of acts in the footage as rape."

The victim grandmother said, "(Mr. Park) touched me thoroughly and left. I have no energy and strength. So I left it alone," adding, "In my heart, I wanted to beat him to death. If only my arm didn't hurt, I would have done something, but I couldn't do as I wished. Because I have no strength, I couldn't rush at him."