The Miryang Gang Rape — The Horrific And Mishandled Crime Resurfacing In Korea
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Recently, the identities of individuals alleged to have been involved in the 2004 Miryang gang rape case were exposed by an anonymous YouTuber.
YouTuber Begins Exposing The Identities Of 44 Gang Rapists Involved In Miryang Case
Current news articles give details of the case, including the alleged 44 rapists who faced no criminal charges. However, the case had many other details, including the alleged true number of perpetrators involved.
In 2003, a 14-year-old middle school student identified as Choi dialed the wrong number, connecting with one of the alleged assailants, identified as Kim, a high school student. The two formed a friendship, with Choi traveling to Miryang, a city in Gyeongsangnam-do Province, to visit Kim after being invited.
Over a year, it was alleged that Choi was raped as many as ten times by 3 to 24 high school boys, with details alleging that female students associated with the boys even filmed some of the assaults.
Ultimately, it was discovered that the high school students had been allegedly assaulting and blackmailing five different girls, including Choi’s sister and cousin. The alleged perpetrators reportedly told Choi photos of her rape would spread around her school if she did not do as she was told.
The case attracted more attention after details of how the police handled the investigation surfaced. Police reportedly asked the girls if they had done anything to “entice” the alleged rapists, and shamed them.
My hometown is Miryang, and you girls have brought disgrace on the city.
— Police officer to the victims
During the investigation, Choi was reportedly brought in front of ten of the alleged rapists and told to identify them, without her identity being concealed. She was also reportedly harassed by the alleged assailants’ families as she entered the police station for this identification.
Protests in support of the victims were held, demanding re-investigations based on police conduct.
Ultimately, 10 of the students who directly took part in the sexual assault were indicted and sentenced to probation, 20 were sent to juvenile detention centers, and 14 settled out of court.
In 2007, the government was ordered to pay damages amounting to ₩70.0 million KRW (about $51,100 USD) to Choi, her sister, and her mother due to the police’s behavior while investigating.
For Choi, the case continued to affect her daily life, resulting in multiple suicide attempts and difficulty in finding find a school to accept her. In one instance, one of the mothers of the alleged perpetrators stalked her at school to demand she ask for her son’s juvenile detention term be shortened.
The case as recently resurfaced as the alleged perpetrators’ identities have begun to be revealed, resulting in consequences for each.
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