No Personnel Action Taken During Detention and Trial
Received 13 Million Won in Salary While Suspended from Duties
Audit Reveals Lax Management by North Chungcheong Province
It has been revealed that a civil servant from Goesan County, North Chungcheong Province, who leaked the personal information of the perpetrators of the Miryang sexual assault case to her husband, the YouTuber known as "Jeontu Tokki," did not face any disciplinary action and continued to receive her salary during her detention and trial.
According to the results of a comprehensive audit of Goesan County released by North Chungcheong Province on January 19, Goesan County took no special personnel measures even after being notified in September 2024 that civil servant A, at level 7, had been indicted and detained on charges including violations of the Personal Information Protection Act.
A is accused of illegally accessing and leaking personal information-including resident registration numbers and addresses-of multiple individuals, including those identified as perpetrators in the Miryang sexual assault case, and providing this information to her husband, the YouTuber "Jeontu Tokki." The YouTuber then released the identities of those involved based on this information.
Goesan County could have initiated disciplinary procedures either after the decision to detain A or immediately after the first trial verdict. However, the county delayed action, citing the prosecution's refusal to grant access to the investigation records. As a result, A did not face any administrative action until she was sentenced in May of the previous year to two years in prison, suspended for three years.
After an audit by North Chungcheong Province began in September of the same year, the county belatedly requested disciplinary action. However, as the same sentence was confirmed in the appellate court, A was dismissed without disciplinary measures under the automatic dismissal provision. According to the Local Public Officials Act, a public official is automatically dismissed if a sentence of imprisonment or heavier (including suspended sentences) is finalized.
During this process, it was found that A received approximately 13 million won in salary even while being excluded from her duties.
Based on the results of this audit, North Chungcheong Province issued a warning to the relevant department for failing to properly implement disciplinary procedures. The province also called for improvements in overall personnel and disciplinary processes to prevent similar cases in the future.
The Miryang sexual assault case, which occurred in 2004, involved 44 high school students in the Miryang area repeatedly sexually assaulting a middle school girl over the course of a year. At the time, there was widespread criticism that many perpetrators were not adequately punished. In June 2024, controversy was reignited when a YouTube channel disclosed the identities of individuals identified as perpetrators, and other YouTubers joined in revealing the alleged perpetrators' identities, sparking debate over "private sanctions." In the process, unrelated individuals were mistakenly identified as perpetrators and suffered harm.
In October of the previous year, the court ruled that such disclosures of personal information constituted a crime undermining the rule of law, sentencing the YouTuber Jeontu Tokki to two years and six months in prison and A, who leaked the information, to two years in prison, suspended for three years.
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