Miryang Group Sexual Assault Case Perpetrators' Identities Revealed One After Another
6th Accused Man Says "No Investigation Conducted"
Over 1 Million Views on Video... Video Now Deleted
Amid ongoing revelations of the identities of perpetrators involved in the 2004 group sexual assault case of a female middle school student in Miryang, Gyeongnam, a man identified as the sixth perpetrator by a YouTuber has claimed his innocence. He insisted, "I only attended the same school as the perpetrators but did not participate in the sexual assault," expressing his frustration. Although the YouTube video was deleted shortly after, it was confirmed that over one million people had already viewed it.
Personal information of the '6th perpetrator in Miryang' posted on a YouTube channel. The video has been deleted due to false information. [Photo by YouTube capture]
On the 8th, a YouTuber uploaded a video titled "The 6th Perpetrator of the Miryang Female Middle School Student Case OOO (real name, referred to as Mr. A). Four Facts You Must Know About Him." The video contained Mr. A’s real name, face, contact information, workplace, and other personal details.
The video quickly spread through social networking services (SNS) and online communities. As of 10 a.m. on the 10th, it surpassed 1.07 million views. Some netizens contacted the company where Mr. A works, and as a result, Mr. A was placed on standby duty.
However, Mr. A maintains that he is unrelated to the incident. On the 10th, OhmyNews published Mr. A’s "Criminal and Investigation Record Report," which showed no records from 2004. Mr. A stated, "When I inquired at the police station I visited, they said that even for a case 20 years ago, if I had been investigated, it would show up. I confirmed that there are no investigation records related to me." The Criminal and Investigation Record Report includes all judicial processing history of an individual, including expired punishments and investigation records.
Mr. A said, "I have never been contacted by the YouTuber even once," and corrected, "I was born in 1987, not 1986. The phone number mentioned in the video is one I used 20 years ago." He continued, "Because I attended the same school as the perpetrators, my name was included on the perpetrator list at that time, and the phone number I had publicly posted on Cyworld was hacked. Among my friends who posted photos on Cyworld, some are not perpetrators, yet their photos are still circulating on the internet," expressing his grievance.
Regarding being placed on standby duty by his company, he said, "I explained everything to the company, but no one believes me," and lamented, "I think I will soon be fired. I have lived believing I am innocent and that I will be fine, but I don’t know who will believe this." It is reported that Mr. A plans to take legal action against the YouTuber and others. The video in question has since been deleted.
Innocent People Identified as Perpetrators... Harm Spreading
Recently, revelations about the perpetrators of the Miryang female middle school student group sexual assault case have spread widely on YouTube and SNS, leading to innocent people being identified as perpetrators or acquaintances of perpetrators and subjected to excessive personal attacks. On the 7th, Ms. B, who was identified as the perpetrator’s girlfriend, stated, "I am not the perpetrator’s girlfriend," and appealed, "I am suffering from malicious comments due to a witch hunt. My business has suffered greatly, and my acquaintances are also in pain." The YouTube channel that revealed this information later posted a notice asking to stop attacks on the business, admitting the information was incorrect, but the damage had already spread.
The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency announced that five complaints have been filed against the YouTube channel that disclosed the perpetrators’ identities related to the case. The complainants reportedly submitted the complaints on the grounds that "a YouTube channel disclosed personal information without consent, damaging their reputation." Among the complainants are a man who was identified as a perpetrator and dismissed from his job and Ms. B.
The Korean Sexual Violence Counseling Center, one of the victim support organizations for the Miryang sexual violence case, criticized, "Both the headquarters and the victim’s side did not confirm, listen to, or reflect the victim’s intentions from beginning to end regarding the YouTuber’s behavior," and added, "It is as if the victim was sacrificed for YouTube content."
The Miryang female middle school student group sexual assault case occurred in 2004 in Miryang City, Gyeongnam, where 44 male students collectively sexually assaulted a female middle school student. At the time of the crime, the perpetrators were high school students. The prosecution indicted some who directly participated in the sexual assault, while the others were sent to juvenile court or released. The 10 indicted were also sent to juvenile court the following year but only received probation and similar measures. None of the 44 received criminal punishment, which sparked public outrage.
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