Narack Storage, Reigniting the Milyang Middle School Girls' Group Sexual Assault Case
Pansuk Posts "Victim Consented" Judgment and Call Audio
Victim's Side Requests "Take Down Video... Will Speak Directly"
Recently, the YouTube channel 'Narakbogwanso' uploaded a series of videos related to the 2004 gang sexual assault case involving middle school girls in Miryang, Gyeongnam, bringing the case back into the spotlight. In response, the YouTube channel 'Pansuk' posted the court ruling and recorded phone conversations, claiming they were directly received from the victim. However, the victim's side is demanding the videos be deleted, stating they were uploaded without consent.
On the 9th, an online community post titled "I am a victim of the Miryang case. Please read this" was published. The post was written directly by A, the younger sister of the victim in the so-called "Miryang middle school girls gang sexual assault case." A stated, "The phone conversation in the YouTube 'Pansuk' video is indeed the victim herself," but added, "The victim currently lacks decision-making ability and has an intellectual disability."
A explained, "In 2004, the victim did not undergo a disability assessment and was unaware such an assessment existed, so she was not considered disabled at that time," and continued, "I am writing this after consulting with the victim. Pansuk uploaded the video without the victim's consent only now, although the victim contacted him seven months ago and he recorded the call using his phone's automatic recording function." Earlier, on the 8th, Pansuk claimed to have spoken directly with the Miryang case victim and posted a video revealing the victim's voice and the court ruling. The victim's side requested the video be deleted, but Pansuk only removed the audio portion of the call from the video.
Contents of text messages exchanged between the victim and YouTuber Pansuk. [Photo by Online Community, screenshot of post by Ms. A (victim's younger sister)]
A said, "Pansuk promised to delete the video if the victim requested it directly, so we kept trying to contact him," but added, "However, Pansuk pressured us by saying he was sued for holding a solo protest at Uiryeong Police Station and visiting the gukbap restaurant where the perpetrator is reportedly employed." She continued, "He asked if the victim was being threatened by the perpetrators through the video and mentioned his subscribers. After meeting and watching the video, he promised to have an honest conversation and delete it, so I endured it. But the video has not been deleted yet," and criticized, "The victim is struggling with the YouTube video, which she neither remembers nor was in a state to understand at the time. Is public opinion more important than the victim? We requested the video be completely deleted, but YouTuber Pansuk keeps mentioning the counseling center and the victim, saying he will 'nicely package and upload it,' which I dislike. If he wants to speak, he should do so directly."
Additionally, A claimed, "We did not want the court ruling to be disclosed or used as information, and Pansuk himself agreed not to do so. Yet, he uploaded the video," and added, "Since the victim did not want the second recorded phone call, I, the victim's younger sister, pretended to be the victim during the call."
Victim States "Does Not Want Video Released" but...
On the same day, Pansuk expressed his grievances through his YouTube community. He said, "I apologize to the victim and her family," but also claimed, "It was suspicious that the victim repeatedly called me late at night, verified her identity with video calls, ID cards, and court rulings, and asked me to punish the perpetrators."
He added, "Although I felt wronged after seeing the post despite editing the video, I took down all the videos thinking that if the victim truly did not want them up, keeping them would only cause her more pain. I will return to the position of holding a solo protest at Uiryeong Police Station and continue to punish the 44 perpetrators to the end."
Netizens who encountered the case responded with comments such as, "I hope the victim can handle this with some peace of mind," "I cannot even imagine how upset the victim and her family must be," "Why keep bringing up the victim?" "Why was the victim's voice uploaded without voice modulation?" "Why make the victim suffer more?" and "The victim clearly said not to mention or broadcast this case, but writing about it again is mocking the victim."
Earlier, the YouTube channel 'Narakbogwanso,' which first brought the case to public attention, removed all Miryang-related videos at the victim's request. However, just one day later on the 8th, they began re-uploading videos containing personal information. Narakbogwanso stated, "The victim's younger sister requested the videos be taken down, but the victim's younger brother believes publicizing the case is the right thing to do," and continues to upload new videos.
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