"There Was No Excessive Exposure... The Essence of the Screening Clinic Assault Is 'Same-Sex Sexual Violence'"

"Prosecutors Accepted Only the Perpetrator's Claims...
No Issue with the Victim's Attire at the Time"

The victim in the screening clinic assault case, which was initially reported as having occurred due to excessive exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic, has refuted this characterization, stating, "The essence of this case is 'same-sex sexual violence.'"

According to Yonhap News Agency, on the 16th, the victim, referred to as A, and the Jeonju Sexual Violence Counseling Center stated, "This incident is not a simple assault but a case of sexual violence involving sexual violation of another person's body, and there is a real victim." They further criticized, "The victim filed a complaint against the perpetrator for 'indecent act by compulsion resulting in injury,' but the prosecutor, who holds the right to prosecute, accepted only the perpetrator's unilateral claims and indicted the case as a simple assault."

Kwon Ji-hyun, head of the Jeonju Sexual Violence Counseling Center, told Yonhap News Agency, "At the time of the incident, the perpetrator grabbed the victim's chest area, which is clearly an act of sexual harassment," emphasizing, "Just because it was between people of the same sex does not mean such behavior can be understood or tolerated." She added, "Nevertheless, the defendant blamed the victim's attire in court, shifting responsibility for the crime onto the victim. As these factually incorrect statements have been reported, the victim is currently suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)."

Clothing worn by the victim at the time of the incident. Photo by Jeonju Sexual Violence Counseling Center and Yonhap News Agency

The Jeonju Sexual Violence Counseling Center provided a photo of the clothing A was wearing at the clinic as evidence to refute the defendant B (a 48-year-old woman)'s statement during her final appeal hearing, in which she claimed, "I touched (the chest area) while pointing out the victim's revealing clothing."

The clothing A was reportedly wearing at the time of the incident consisted of comfortable athletic wear and a padded jacket, which appears significantly different from the attire described by B in court while pleading for leniency.

The Jeonju Sexual Violence Counseling Center countered B's claim by stating, "At the time of the incident, it was winter and the temperature was very low, so wearing revealing clothing would have resulted in catching a cold."

Previously, the Criminal Division 2 of the Jeonju District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Dohyeong) dismissed the appeal of B, a Jeonju city government employee who was indicted on assault charges, and upheld the original verdict of a 500,000 won fine in the appellate trial on the 2nd. B was indicted for striking the chest of A, a government employee, twice at a screening clinic in Wansan-gu, Jeonju, on January 13, 2022, during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak. After receiving the same sentence in the appellate trial, B recently filed an appeal with the Supreme Court seeking a final judgment.