Criticism Continues on City Website
Due to Alleged Public Institution Employment of One Perpetrator
Recently, as YouTubers have been consecutively revealing the identities of the perpetrators involved in the 'Miryang Middle School Girl Gang Rape Case' from 20 years ago, the incident has once again sparked public outrage. Meanwhile, the city's official website has been experiencing a surge in traffic, accompanied by a flood of critical posts targeting the city.
On the 7th, Yonhap News reported that numerous posts criticizing Miryang City have been continuously uploaded on the free bulletin board of the Miryang City Hall website. Additionally, hundreds of critical comments such as "We should no longer visit Miryang" and "A city to avoid" have appeared on Miryang City's social media posts on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
The Miryang City Hall website has been overwhelmed by simultaneous visitors, causing slow loading speeds and making it difficult to even access the homepage. On the Citizen's Plaza free bulletin board, the titles of posts alone reveal strong criticism of Miryang City, including phrases like "Please erase Miryang from the map of Korea," "Miryang City still hasn't come to its senses," and "Miryang OOOOOO (public institution name) protecting rapists."
This situation arose after a YouTuber revealed that one of the perpetrators works at a certain public institution in Miryang City. In response, the city held a meeting chaired by the deputy mayor to discuss countermeasures, but it is reported that no solution was reached. A city official told Yonhap News, "YouTube channels are not media outlets, so we cannot raise the issue with the Press Arbitration Commission," adding, "There is harm, but since the damage is unclear, it is difficult to file a complaint." The official further stated, "We fully understand the feelings of the complainants, but from the city's perspective, there is no appropriate measure, so it is frustrating."
Miryang City expressed embarrassment over the incident, which occurred while the city was making various efforts to attract tourists ahead of the upcoming summer vacation season, including the recent completion of the Sunshine Theme Park. After receiving a report on the countermeasure meeting, Miryang Mayor An Byung-gu, who took office through the by-election held alongside the April 10 general election, reportedly expressed "deep regret." A city official said, "We are concerned and cautious as the city's image could be negatively stigmatized," adding, "We plan to issue an official statement under the mayor's name expressing regret soon."
The 'Miryang Middle School Girl Gang Rape Case' refers to an incident in 2004 in Miryang, Gyeongnam, where 44 male students born between 1986 and 1988, who were high school students at the time, gang-raped a middle school girl over the course of a year. The perpetrators filmed the assaults on their mobile phones and threatened the victim by saying they would distribute the footage if she reported them. The prosecution indicted only 10 individuals who directly participated in the rape, while the rest were either sent to juvenile court or released.
Those indicted were eventually sent to juvenile court and received probation or similar protective measures, resulting in none of the 44 being criminally punished, and the case was closed. The case has recently been brought back into the spotlight after a YouTuber exposed that the ringleader of the incident is currently running a restaurant with relatives in Cheongdo-gun.
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