Restaurant Run by Perpetrator's Family Exposed... Charged with Obstruction of Business
Personal Information of Innocent People Also Disclosed, Around 20 Victims
The YouTuber known as 'Jiphaengin' has been sentenced to prison for unlawfully disclosing the identities of perpetrators involved in the group sexual assault of a middle school girl that occurred in Miryang, Gyeongnam, about 20 years ago.
On April 18, the Criminal Division 6 of the Changwon District Court (Presiding Judge Woo Sangbeom) sentenced a man in his 20s, identified as A, who operates the YouTube channel 'Jiphaengin', to three years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of 5.66 million won. He was convicted of defamation under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, as well as obstruction of business. The court also sentenced the channel's video producer, who was tried alongside A, to two years and six months in prison, according to a report by Yonhap News on the same day.
From June to August of last year, A and others were brought to trial on charges of uploading videos to their YouTube channel that unlawfully revealed the identities of the perpetrators in the Miryang sexual assault case. They were also charged with obstructing business by exposing the restaurant operated by a family member of one of the alleged perpetrators. As public interest in the Miryang sexual assault case grew, A collected materials from unverified tips and internet searches and produced videos presenting them as facts. In the process, the personal information of innocent people unrelated to the case was also disclosed, with approximately 20 victims reported.
The court stated, "Our society can no longer tolerate the phenomenon of spreading false information through YouTube or social networking services (SNS). It is necessary to impose strict punishment in order to secure at least a minimum level of credibility," explaining the reasoning behind the sentencing.
Meanwhile, most YouTubers who disclosed the identities of the Miryang sexual assault case perpetrators, as in this case, are currently under investigation by prosecutors or have been brought to trial. The sentencing for another YouTuber, 'Jeontutokki', who was also indicted for disclosing the identities of the Miryang case perpetrators, is scheduled to take place at the Changwon District Court on the 23rd of next month. During the sentencing hearing in February, prosecutors requested a five-year prison term for Jeontutokki. They also requested a two-year prison sentence for Jeontutokki's wife, who abused her status as a public official to illegally access personal information and pass it on to her husband. The operator of the YouTube channel 'Narakbogwanso', who was the first to disclose the identities of the perpetrators in the Miryang sexual assault case, is also under investigation by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office.
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