Judge Who Acquitted Late Goo Hara's Ex-Boyfriend Assigned to 'Nth Room Case'... Controversy Over Gender Sensitivity

Photo by MBC 'PD Notebook'

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] MBC's 'PD Notebook' criticized the gender sensitivity of judges who deliver rulings on sexual crimes.

In the MBC 'PD Notebook' broadcast on the 23rd, detailed stories about sexual crime rulings were covered, including the 'Nth Room case,' where women were threatened to produce and distribute sexual exploitation materials.

Recently, a petition regarding Judge A, who was in charge of the 'Nth Room case,' was posted on the Blue House National Petition site. The petitioner urged for a change of judge, stating that Judge A had acquitted the late Goo Hara's ex-boyfriend Mr. Choi of illegal filming charges in her trial. The petitioner also pointed out that Judge A had previously handed down a not guilty verdict and a suspended sentence in the cases of the late actress Jang Ja-yeon’s sexual harassment and the sexual slavery game incident, respectively.

The petition surpassed 300,000 signatures within 24 hours of being posted and exceeded 460,000 within a month. Eventually, Judge A requested reassignment, bringing the matter to a close. This was the first case in which a judge was replaced through a national petition.

According to the broadcast, over the past 10 years, 41.4% of all sexual crime rulings resulted in suspended sentences, and 71.6% of offenders avoided imprisonment. Son Jung-woo, who operated a child sexual exploitation video site and sparked national outrage, received a sentence of 1 year and 6 months in South Korea. However, it was revealed that he would have faced at least 15 years in the United States, leading to criticism that South Korea is lenient toward sexual offenders.

Sexual crime perpetrators have been avoiding imprisonment through settlements with victims and psychiatric treatment records. Experts agreed that judges need to distinguish whether settlements are based on forgiveness or monetary compensation when making rulings.

As this situation continues, activists and civic groups monitoring trials are increasing. One activist interviewed by the PD Notebook production team stated that the problem lies in people lacking consideration for victims and gender sensitivity becoming members of specialized sexual crime courts.

As public criticism over low sentences for sexual crimes intensifies, the Supreme Court Sentencing Commission acknowledged the reality of digital sexual crimes and announced plans to establish stricter sentencing guidelines by December this year. However, at the end of the broadcast, it was conveyed that the fundamental issue is the judiciary’s low gender sensitivity, and there is hope that the judiciary will take a step forward in line with the times.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.