Court Official Referred to Prosecution for Illegally Accessing Personal Data of Miryang Sexual Assault Perpetrators

A court official suspected of illegally accessing the personal information of perpetrators involved in the Miryang collective sexual assault case has been referred to the prosecution.

The Seoul Mapo Police Station announced that it referred the court official, identified as A, to the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office on June 12 on charges of violating the Personal Information Protection Act.

While working as a judicial clerk at the Seoul Western District Court, A is accused of using the court's internal computer network to privately look up the resident registration information of over 10 individuals involved in the Miryang collective sexual assault case.

The Miryang collective sexual assault case refers to an incident in 2004 in which 44 high school students in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, collectively sexually assaulted a middle school girl from Ulsan over the course of one year.

At the time, the case sparked public outrage as many of the perpetrators avoided criminal punishment because they were minors or had reached settlements with the victim.

In particular, the police faced heavy criticism for their inadequate response, which included exposing the victim's identity and failing to take appropriate measures even when the victim was being threatened by the perpetrators' families.

A film based on the incident was released in 2014, and the case gained renewed attention in 2024 when the identities of the perpetrators were disclosed online.

In the process, a YouTuber who disclosed the identities was sentenced to prison. It was later revealed that it was the victim of the case who had provided the perpetrators' personal information to the YouTuber.

Last month, the police booked the victim, also referred to as A, and A's younger sibling without detention on charges of violating the Personal Information Protection Act.

They are accused of providing personal information of those involved in the Miryang sexual assault case to YouTubers between 2023 and 2024.

Investigations revealed that they shared the perpetrators' real names, addresses, and resident registration numbers with YouTubers using court rulings they had obtained in their capacity as the victim.

Reported by Kim Min-jung | Video by Hong Jin-young | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.