"You Made the First Move"... Police Officer Who Abused Milyang Victim Exposed

Establishment of a Professional Kickboxing Organization After Retirement in 2016
Recent Controversy Leads to Deletion of YouTube Posts

Following the perpetrators of the group sexual assault case involving a female middle school student that occurred 20 years ago in Miryang, Gyeongnam, the police officers in charge of the case have also been exposed to personal information leaks.

On the 13th, a video revealing the personal information of Mr. A, the former head of the Violent Crimes Team 1 at Ulsan Nambu Police Station, was uploaded on YouTube. The video fully disclosed Mr. A’s real name, face, and current status. Mr. A retired from the police force in 2016 after serving as the head of the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency’s Special Investigation Unit and finally as the head of the Intelligent Crime Investigation Unit. Since then, he established a professional kickboxing organization and operated online platform accounts such as a YouTube channel, but recently, seemingly aware of the controversy, he deleted all posts on the channel.

At the time of the group sexual assault case, the police officer in charge was reported to have committed secondary victimization against the victim. According to Seo Hye-jin, human rights director of the Korean Women Lawyers Association, despite the victim’s request to "protect her identity," the police disclosed the case details and the victim’s identity to the media. Furthermore, during the face-to-face investigation, a male police officer, not a female officer, was present, and the male officer conducting the interrogation reportedly made abusive remarks such as, "Didn’t you make the first move?", "You have tainted the reputation of Miryang," and "The perpetrators are the future leaders of Miryang." However, it has not been confirmed whether Mr. A, whose personal information was recently disclosed, is the same officer who made these remarks. Subsequently, the victim’s side filed a state compensation claim on the grounds that the police violated the law, and the court recognized the victim’s claim. The police chief apologized, and eight officers were disciplined, but it is reported that they were reinstated after one year.

On the 13th, a press conference titled "Miryang Sexual Violence Case, From the Victim's Life, Through the Victim's Eyes, Speaking Together with the Victim" is being held at the Korea Sexual Violence Counseling Center in Mapo-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The "Miryang Female Middle School Student Group Sexual Assault Case" involved 44 male students born between 1986 and 1988, who were high school students at the time, sexually assaulting one female middle school student in Miryang, Gyeongnam, over the course of a year in 2004. The perpetrators even 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 who directly participated in the assaults, while the rest were sent to juvenile court or released. Even those indicted were eventually sent to juvenile court and received probation or similar measures, resulting in none of the 44 receiving criminal punishment, and the case was closed. The case was recently brought back into the spotlight after a YouTuber exposed that the ringleader of the case is currently running a restaurant with relatives in Cheongdo-gun, followed by other YouTubers joining in to reveal the identities of the perpetrators, causing a major stir.

Meanwhile, on the 13th, the victim’s side of the Miryang group sexual assault case issued a statement regarding some YouTubers recently disclosing the perpetrators’ personal information and the victim’s voice, asking to "refrain from exposing the victim’s name and making critical remarks without the victim’s consent."