Miryang Incident Victim Interview on 'Unanswered Questions'
"Impossible to Live Daily Life Without Medication... Family Also Suffers"
"No Consent for Any Content... Afraid of Retaliation"
The victim of the so-called ‘Miryang Middle School Girl Group Sexual Assault Case,’ which was recently brought back into the spotlight due to private sanctions by YouTubers, has spoken out directly for the first time in 20 years. In an interview with SBS’s ‘Unanswered Questions’ on the 20th, victim A said, “The pattern has been the same since 2004 (when the incident occurred). I cannot live daily life without medication,” revealing that she has been suffering from continuous mental anguish. She also said that her family has been living in pain because of the incident. A’s younger sibling lamented, “We couldn’t graduate from high school,” and added, “We have been receiving psychiatric treatment from then until now.”
The interviews with A and her sibling were conducted with stand-ins to protect their identities. A, who was 15 years old at the time of the incident, is now in her mid-30s but continues to suffer. A’s sibling, who witnessed the incident, is in the same situation. Especially recently, as the case was re-examined by YouTubers, their suffering has intensified. A’s sibling said that on the 2nd of last month, their younger brother told them, “The video channel is going crazy right now,” which is how they learned about the exposure of the perpetrators’ identities.
In response, A’s sibling reportedly sent an email to the YouTuber requesting the deletion of the video before victim A became aware of the situation. However, the YouTuber replied, “Since it’s already like this, why don’t we try to grow this case together?” A’s sibling said, “Wasn’t it written in the notice on that YouTube channel that ‘the victim agreed’?” and added, “I was afraid the perpetrators would retaliate. Even now, every time I close the front door, I check dozens of times if it’s locked.” Due to the controversy, the video was eventually deleted belatedly.
Victim A stated regarding this, “I never agreed to any content,” and said, “Whether it’s a movie or a drama, they didn’t get my consent.”
Thought They Were Criminally Punished... 13 Not Prosecuted Despite Victim Testimony
The perpetrators arrested by the police following the 2004 Miryang sexual assault case. [Image source=SBS 'Unanswered Questions' capture]
However, A and her sister said that only after this issue surfaced did they learn that none of the 44 perpetrators who testified during the investigation were criminally punished. A said, “We were young then and didn’t know how the case was progressing. We thought everyone would be punished based on our testimony alone,” and added, “I’m curious about how many reached settlements, why some cases were dismissed due to lack of prosecution, why it says there was no victim testimony, and what the criteria were for detention, non-detention, and juvenile court referral.”
The Miryang Middle School Girl Group Sexual Assault Case involved 44 high school boys from the Gyeongnam Miryang area luring one middle school girl from Ulsan to Miryang and sexually assaulting her continuously for a year in 2004. At the time, the prosecution indicted 10 perpetrators who directly participated in the sexual assault, and they received dispositions such as probation. Twenty were referred to juvenile court or released, and the remaining 14 lost their right to prosecution due to settlements. Ultimately, none of the 44 were criminally punished.
Among them, 13 who were identified as accomplices by the main perpetrators and whom the victim identified in photos were not prosecuted because the victim did not directly file a complaint. Lawyer Oh Sun-hee, who appeared on the broadcast, explained, “‘That person also harmed me’ is a victim’s statement, not a complaint,” and added, “You need to say, ‘I am filing a complaint against that person. Please punish them.’ At that time, juvenile rape was a crime requiring a complaint. If no complaint was filed or if it was withdrawn, punishment was not possible.” In other words, despite the testimonies of other perpetrators and the victim’s confirmation, the police did not separately confirm the victim’s complaint regarding the 13 accomplices, so the complaint-based crime rule was applied, resulting in non-prosecution. Consequently, no criminal record remains for them.
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