"Busan Roundhouse Kick Perpetrator Listed Judge and Prosecutor as Retaliation Targets"

Testimony from Fellow Inmate
"He Expressed Deep Resentment After Receiving a 12-Year Sentence in the First Trial"

A fellow inmate of the perpetrator in the so-called "Busan Roundhouse Kick Case" claimed, "The perpetrator of the roundhouse kick case threatened to find and kill the victim, even describing specific methods of escape from prison."

On May 27, the First Criminal Division of the Busan District Court’s Western Branch (Presiding Judge Lee Jin-jae) began witness examination procedures in the trial of Mr. Lee, the perpetrator of the Busan Roundhouse Kick Case, who has been indicted on charges of retaliatory threats. Previously, Mr. Lee was indicted for threatening to retaliate against the victim of the roundhouse kick case while in detention, as well as for sending threatening letters to his ex-girlfriend.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage capturing the situation during the so-called "Busan Roundhouse Kick" incident that occurred on May 22 last year. Photo by Victim's Side

On this day, YouTubers identified as A and B appeared as witnesses. They had been held in the same detention cell as Mr. Lee in early 2023.

Testifying via video, Witness A stated, "While I was in detention, I had to visit an outside hospital several times. On each occasion, Mr. Lee would ask me about the hospital’s layout and requested that I prepare a motorcycle with the key left in it for him upon his release." He added, "He repeatedly mentioned the name of the victim’s villa, saying he would escape and find the victim to kill them."

He continued, "Mr. Lee expressed strong resentment, saying that because of the victim, he was indicted for attempted murder rather than assault in the first trial and received a 12-year prison sentence," and, "He claimed that he received a heavy sentence due to the victim’s media campaign and asked me to use my YouTube channel to clear his name."

Witness A also stated, "Mr. Lee said that if the victim continued this media campaign, they could be killed at any time and anywhere," and, "It appears that Mr. Lee used my YouTube channel to psychologically pressure the victim in order to prevent the case from gaining further public attention."

According to Witness A, Mr. Lee also wrote down his intended targets for retaliation in his notebook. A said, "Not only the roundhouse kick victim, but also the judge who delivered the first trial verdict, the prosecutor, and his ex-girlfriend were listed as targets for retaliation, and he later tore up and disposed of the list." The other witness, B, gave a similar statement.

However, Mr. Lee denied the allegations of retaliation. He claimed, "Fellow inmates with whom I did not have a good relationship coordinated their statements and provided false testimony to profit from YouTube."

In response, Witness A countered, "It was not for YouTube subscribers, but because I wanted Mr. Lee, who was trying to reduce his sentence by any means, to be properly punished and to protect the victim, that I spoke about what happened in detention on my YouTube channel."

The victim, who attended the trial, told reporters, "The fact that he wrote down the names of the prosecutor and judge on paper means this is not just retaliation against me, but against the public," and added, "I thought he was just boasting to fellow inmates about retaliating against me, but I was shocked to learn that he even asked them to prepare a motorcycle for his escape."