A YouTuber in his 30s has been arrested for disclosing personal information without consent in connection with the "Miryang Middle School Girl Group Sexual Assault Case" that occurred 20 years ago in Gyeongnam.
The Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency announced on the 8th that they had arrested YouTuber A, who operates under the name "Jeontu Tokki."
On the afternoon of the 7th, Judge Jung Jieun, who is in charge of warrants at the Changwon District Court, conducted a warrant review for A on charges including defamation and coercion under the Information and Communications Network Act, and issued an arrest warrant, citing concerns about flight risk.
According to the police, from June to July, A is accused of identifying multiple individuals as perpetrators of the Miryang sexual assault case on his YouTube channel and disclosing their personal information. He is also accused of threatening some of those whose information was disclosed, stating that if they did not send him an apology video, he would reveal their family members' personal information.
The police, who received a total of 17 complaints and accusations against A, launched an investigation and looked into a total of 18 cases, including one additional case of victimization. After identifying the suspect through investigative tracking, they arrested A at his residence on the 5th.
The police plan to refer A to the prosecution after analyzing the seized materials and confirming additional damages, and will proceed with confiscation to recover criminal proceeds.
The Miryang sexual assault case refers to an incident in 2004 in which 44 high school students in the Miryang area sexually assaulted a middle school girl over the course of a year. Only 10 perpetrators were brought to trial, 20 were sent to juvenile detention centers, and the remainder were either not prosecuted due to settlements with the victim or were not included in the complaint, resulting in no punishment due to loss of prosecutorial authority.
The case resurfaced in early last month after a YouTube channel disclosed the personal information of alleged perpetrators, drawing renewed attention. Other YouTubers and bloggers joined in revealing the suspected perpetrators' information, sparking controversy over "private sanctions."
In response, those involved in the videos filed complaints against the YouTubers and bloggers.
According to the provincial police agency, as of the 8th, there have been 618 complaints regarding the disclosure of personal information related to the case, with 314 individuals subject to investigation. In this process, 14 people have been referred to the prosecution, while 15 who either withdrew their complaints or were not found to have committed any offense were not charged.
A representative of the provincial police agency stated, "As indiscriminate disclosure of personal information based on unverified facts causes harm, we will do our best in the investigation."
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