Broadcasting Commission Announces YouTube Review for Public Disclosure of Milyang Perpetrator's Identity

The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) has begun reviewing the YouTube channel 'Narak Bogwanso,' which disclosed the identities of perpetrators involved in the 2004 Milyang middle school girl gang rape case. The KCSC may decide to request corrective actions such as removal of the posts or blocking access to the videos on YouTube.

[Photo by YouTube 'Narak Bogwanso' capture]

According to the KCSC on the 10th, the Communications Review Subcommittee plans to place four videos related to the YouTube channel 'Narak Bogwanso' on the agenda for review as early as the 13th. A KCSC official stated, "We are currently examining whether these videos violate review regulations."

On the same day, the Narak Bogwanso channel posted on its YouTube community, "The Narak Bogwanso channel will undergo review by the Korea Communications Standards Commission. We may no longer be able to be with you all," but also added, "However, we will continue to upload videos."

Previously, from the 1st to the 6th, the YouTube channel Narak Bogwanso released videos containing detailed information such as the faces, occupations, and personal details of the perpetrators involved in the Milyang sexual assault case. These videos garnered significant attention, reaching 3.31 million views within five days, sparking public criticism that led to some perpetrators being dismissed from their workplaces. The channel operator announced plans to disclose the personal information of all 44 perpetrators.

However, controversy arose when it was revealed that the victims were unaware of the channel until the first video exposing the perpetrators' identities was uploaded. Victim support organizations expressed concern, stating, "The unilateral uploading of videos and the race for views are far from respecting the victims' recovery and wishes."

Following criticism regarding the disclosure of perpetrators' identities without the victims' consent and private sanctions, Narak Bogwanso removed all related videos. Yet, on the 8th, just one day later, the YouTuber re-uploaded some of the deleted videos, explaining, "The victim's younger sister requested the videos be taken down, but the victim's younger brother expressed that publicizing the issue is appropriate."

Meanwhile, the KCSC can decide to request corrective measures such as removal or access blocking of YouTube videos. However, these actions are requests made to YouTube and are not directly enforced. YouTube has not removed content solely based on KCSC decisions in the past and follows a principle of self-regulation, taking action only when there is a court ruling or when content violates its own policies.