YouTuber in Their 20s and Others Arrested for Illegally Disclosing Personal Information Related to the Miryang Sexual Assault Case

Even Innocent People Suffer from Personal Information Leaks

A YouTuber in their 20s has been arrested for identifying multiple individuals as perpetrators in the Miryang middle school girl group sexual assault case and unlawfully disclosing their personal information.

The Cyber Investigation Unit of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency announced on the 8th that they had arrested YouTuber A, in their 20s, and video producer B, in their 30s, on charges of defamation, obstruction of business, and stalking.

According to the police, from June to August, A and others are accused of disclosing the personal information of individuals identified as perpetrators in the Miryang sexual assault case on their YouTube channel “Executioner-Gonggaechuhyeong” without consent.

They also disrupted business by publicly revealing a restaurant operated by the family of a person they identified as a perpetrator.

They produced videos using unverified reports or materials obtained through internet searches.

It was confirmed that many people unrelated to the case were also included in this process.

Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

The Cyber Investigation Unit of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency launched an investigation after receiving 21 related complaints and petitions on June 7.

After identifying two suspects, they were arrested at their residences and offices on September 29, and were transferred to the prosecution on the 8th after being detained on the 1st of this month.

The investigation team is also investigating other YouTubers who have committed similar crimes.

A police official stated, “We will do our utmost in the investigation, as damages are occurring due to so-called ‘cyber wreckers’ who indiscriminately disclose personal information based on unverified facts for attention.”

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 rest were either settled with the victim or were not included in the complaint, resulting in no prosecution.

The case regained attention early last month after a YouTube channel disclosed the identities of those alleged to be perpetrators, and as other YouTubers and bloggers joined in revealing the alleged perpetrators’ information, controversy over ‘private sanctions’ arose.

Previously, the Cyber Investigation Unit of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency arrested and referred YouTuber B, who operated under the name “Jeontu Tokki,” and B’s wife, civil servant C, who provided him with personal information. Both are currently indicted and will stand trial.