Instagram Account of Detained 'Spinning Kick Man' Deactivated: Who and How?

Account Deactivated Under Service Policy for Convicted Sex Offenders
High School Student Requested Closure After Appellate Court Ruling

The Instagram account believed to belong to the perpetrator of the 'Busan Spinning Kick Incident' was deactivated following the appellate court's ruling.

According to Instagram and other sources on June 14, as of that day, the account of perpetrator A in the 'Busan Spinning Kick Incident' could no longer be found. Even when directly entering the account's URL, a message appears stating, "Sorry, this page isn't available."

On the afternoon of the 12th, at the Busan Court Complex in Yeonje District, Busan, defendant A in the 'spinning kick incident' is getting into a transport vehicle after being sentenced to 20 years in prison during the appellate court verdict hearing.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

This appears to be because, under Meta's operational policies, individuals convicted of sex crimes are not allowed to use Instagram or Facebook. Meta immediately deactivates accounts once it is confirmed that a user is a sex offender.

In particular, it is believed that the account was deactivated because a high school student contacted Meta and informed them that A had been convicted of a sex crime.

According to Yonhap News on June 13, the high school student, referred to as B, stated, "After the appellate court ruling, I emailed Meta. They replied requesting more specific information, so I sent a second email with additional details. I attached news articles about the appellate court sentencing, and after that, A's account became unsearchable."

Instagram account search results (left) and related email. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to B, Meta requested "links to documents proving that this person is a convicted sex offender" and "attachments" in order to review the account for deactivation.

B said, "As far as I know, Meta has a policy that prohibits people with a history of sex crimes from using accounts like Instagram," and added, "There is a need to track Instagram accounts that remain active for those with sex crime convictions."

A's Instagram account had spread widely across various online communities as of June 3. The account still contained posts uploaded by A between February and April 2020, which included chilling content such as threats of revenge and retribution against someone, sparking controversy.

Meanwhile, on June 12, the Busan High Court Criminal Division 2-1 (presided over by Chief Judge Choi Hwan) sentenced A, who was charged with attempted rape and murder, to 20 years in prison. The court also ordered A's personal information to be disclosed on the information and communications network for 10 years, restricted A from working at child-related institutions for 10 years, and mandated the attachment of an electronic location tracking device for 20 years.

The court stated, "(A) targeted the victim as an object of sexual desire and brutally assaulted the defenseless victim with the intent to commit rape."

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