2004 gang rape in Miryang, South Korea
The Miryang middle school girl gang rape case was a criminal incident that occurred in Miryang, South Korea in 2004. As many as 120 male high school students gang raped several middle school and high school girls over the course of 11 months.[1] The case provoked controversy due to police mistreatment of the victims and lenient handling of the offenders.
Background
The victims lived in Ulsan and Changwon, while the perpetrators were from Miryang and Changwon.[2] The perpetrators were initially believed to be members of a high school gang,[3] but little evidence for this was found.[4]
They met the first 14-year-old victim over the phone. When she visited them, she was sexually assaulted, with the scene being filmed for blackmail.
According to police, she was raped up to 10 times by three to 24 high school boys in each occurrence. At least 44 boys were involved in the attacks over a period of 11 months.[1][3]
The girl was ordered to bring her 13-year-old sister and 16-year-old cousin to Miryang,[3] where the cousin was assaulted. The original police report stated that the younger sister was sexually assaulted as well, but it may only have been a physical assault.[4] The attackers extorted money from their victims.[5]
After the sisters' aunt reported the rapes to the police,[1] three of the boys were arrested. Following protests from the victims and public, another nine students were arrested, and 29 charged. Family members of the perpetrators threatened the victims, warning them that they should "watch out from now on for reporting our sons to police."[3] In a television interview, a parent of one of the offenders stated, "Why should we feel sorry for the victim's family? Why don't you consider our suffering? Who can resist temptation when girls are trying to seduce boys? They should have taught their daughters how to behave in order to avoid this kind of accident."[5] One girl reportedly quit school after repeated visits and verbal abuse from the offenders' parents.[6]
Investigation
A controversy erupted over allegations that the police had mistreated the victims, culminating in a candlelight vigil by 150 protesters. The victims had asked to be questioned by a female police officer, but their request was ignored. One police officer allegedly said to the victims, "Did you try to entice the guys? You ruined the reputation of Miryang. The boys who would be leading the city in the future are now all arrested thanks to you. What are you going to do? [...] I am afraid that my daughter will turn out like you."[7]
Police also leaked enough information to the media for the victims to be identified. Furthermore, they forced the victims to identify the suspects face-to-face, rather than through a one-way mirror,[1] with the officer asking the victim, "Did he insert [it] or not?"[5] One of the victims had to be hospitalized for psychiatric treatment after these experiences.[5]
In August 2007, the Seoul High Court found the Miryang police officers guilty of negligence in protecting the victims, and ordered them to pay damages totaling ₩50 million to two of the victims and their family.[8] The decision was upheld by the Supreme Court of South Korea in June 2008, which set the compensation at ₩70 million.[1]
Prosecutors sent most of the accused to juvenile court or dropped charges. Ten others were formally accused of group sexual assault, with prosecutors asking for two to four years imprisonment with a three-year stay of execution. Citing the young age of the offenders and the fact that some had already been admitted to college or hired for jobs, the judges refused the charges against even these ten, instead sending them to Juvenile Court.[5] One factor in this decision was that the father of one of the victims formed an agreement with some of the offenders to plead for leniency after receiving a large sum of money. The father was an alcoholic who had divorced the victim's mother three years prior due to his domestic violence, but retained parental rights over his daughter, and persuaded her to accept the agreement.[5] Ultimately, only five suspects were sent to a youth detention center, and none were convicted of criminal charges.[7]
Public response
When the case was first reported on December 7, 2004, internet users started making posts criticizing the realities of education and stating that the perpetrators should be severely punished.
Reports came out on December 8 that among the 44 perpetrators, an arrest warrant was applied for only three, to which netizens responded "arrest all of the perpetrators," and they began to turn loose on the police.
Aftermath
In 2012, it emerged that the female friend of one of the perpetrators had become a police officer, and it was controversial given that the policewoman had insulted and derided the victims back when it was publicized.[9][10]
2024 doxing of perpetrators' identities
The case regained attention in 2024 when a YouTuber posted videos and doxing the identities of some of the perpetrators.[11] Subsequently, other YouTubers also joined in, exposing more identities.[12] One of the perpetrators, surnamed Park, was found to be a restaurant owner married with a daughter, while another, surnamed Shin, worked in a car sale company and was subsequently fired from his job after the company was told of his past crimes. A third was sentenced in 2018 to eight months' jail for loan sharking activities. It also emerged that some of these perpetrators, aged in their late 30s, held stable jobs and had families of their own, and some of them also had daughters. The public opinion was also reportedly unforgiving of the culprits when the incident once again came into public eye, partly due to the fact that these culprits were living good lives without repentance or guilt, having never received punishment for their crimes.[11]
In addition to the identities of some of the perpetrators, identities of those who were thought to be related to them were revealed as well. A nail salon claimed to be owned by one of the perpetrator's girlfriend was targeted, and the owner made a statement that she had never known Shin, and would be taking legal action for the damage to the business and her reputation.[13] By June 11, the police had received three complaints and 13 petitions for defamation filed by not only the perpetrators, but also by other individuals whose identities were revealed.[12] Despite claims by various YouTubers that the victim agreed to the release of the identities, the Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center, which claimed to represent the victim, did not agree to have the identities released.[12]
- Han Gong-ju, a film inspired by these events
- Signal, the Inju Gang Rape case in this series was partially based on this event
References
External links
