A YouTuber who unlawfully disclosed the identities of individuals accused as perpetrators in the 'Miryang sexual assault case' has been sentenced to prison in the appellate trial as well.
On the 30th, the Changwon District Court Criminal Division 3-1 (Presiding Judge Oh Taekwon, Judges Kwon Miyeon and Jeong Hyeonhee) dismissed both the prosecution's and the defendants' appeals in the appellate trial for A, a man in his 30s who operates a YouTube channel, and his wife B, a woman in her 30s, thereby upholding the original verdict.
According to the court, between June and July 2024, A was accused of identifying multiple individuals as perpetrators of the Miryang sexual assault case and disclosing their personal information on his YouTube channel, 'Jeontu Tokki'.
He also threatened some of those whose information was disclosed, stating that if they did not send him an apology video, he would reveal the personal information of their families.
B, a public official at a county office in North Chungcheong Province, was accused of illegally searching for and providing A with information such as the resident registration numbers and addresses of those identified as perpetrators, thereby aiding the crime.
A released some of the information provided by B through his YouTube channel.
The first trial court sentenced A to two years and six months in prison, and B to two years in prison with a three-year suspended sentence.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of 7,823,256 won, confirmed as profits generated from uploading the relevant videos to the YouTube channel.
Previously, both the prosecution, which had sought five years in prison for A and three years for B, and the defendants appealed, citing unfair sentencing and other reasons.
At the time, the court stated, "Identifying perpetrators and treating them as serious criminals based on information circulating online, thereby imposing private sanctions, is an act that threatens the foundation of the rule of law and can never be tolerated," adding, "Many of those whose personal information was disclosed were unrelated to the case, yet they were socially and economically ostracized, and secondary harm was inflicted on the victim."
The court further stated, "To make it clear that acts undermining judicial procedures and eroding the foundation of social trust must not be repeated, a firm and severe punishment is unavoidable."
The appellate court found the original verdict to be appropriate and dismissed both sides' appeals.
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 remaining 13 either reached settlements with the victim or were not included in the complaint, resulting in no prosecution due to lack of prosecutorial authority.
Even among the 10 who were prosecuted, all received probationary measures that left no criminal record.
The case regained public attention in early June last year when a YouTube channel disclosed the identities of those accused as perpetrators. Other YouTubers and bloggers joined in revealing the identities of suspected perpetrators, sparking controversy over "private sanctions."
In response, those identified as perpetrators in the videos filed complaints against the YouTubers and bloggers.
In June last year, 20 years after the incident, Miryang City issued a public apology regarding the case, which had a significant impact.
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