Man fined for falsely accusing stranger in gang rape case

The Changwon District Court said Thursday it has issued a fine of 2 million won ($1,455) to a man in his 30s for harassing another man and his family, mistakenly believing that the victim was involved in the 2004 Miryang gang rape case.

The defendant was found guilty of interference with business in violation of Article 314 of the Criminal Act. In June last year, he posted an accusation on the bulletin board of the victim's online sales site claiming the victim was one of the perpetrators in the Miryang case.

The defendant also posted fabricated information about the victim's family on the bulletin board. It is believed that the false accusations led directly to a drop in sales on the victim's website.

The victim was not related in any way to the gang rape case that sent shockwaves across the country two decades ago. Investigators found that the defendant acted on a false rumor without verifying its authenticity.

"The gravity of the crime and the details shall not be treated lightly ... But (the court) considered the fact that the defendant has admitted to the charges and is remorseful, that he reached a settlement (with the victim), and that he has no prior record," the court said in its ruling.

It was also found that the defendant had sent malicious comments via text message to three people he falsely believed were related to the Miryang incident, but the case was dropped when the victims did not wish to pursue legal action.

The Miryang gang rape case involved 44 high school boys accused of subjecting a middle school girl to months of sexual and physical torture in 2004. It is widely considered one of the worst cases of sexual abuse in the country.

The decadesold case resurfaced in June last year when a local YouTuber revealed the identities of the perpetrators, claiming that he had received consent from the family of the victim. Other YouTubers made similar claims in the following days.

It was later revealed that the victim's family had actually opposed revealing the information to the public. Several claims accusing individuals of being the Miryang perpetrators turned out to be false, and YouTuber Combat Rabbit was found guilty of defamation and received a jail term for accusing innocent men.