A man in his 20s, who is on trial for allegedly threatening Kim Jin-joo (pseudonym), the victim of the 'Busan roundhouse kick' incident, by sending messages that evoke sexual humiliation, has counter-sued Kim for intimidation, now facing charges of false accusation.

According to a police announcement on the 26th, the Busan Sasang Police Station dismissed the complaint filed by Mr. Oh (28) against Kim on the grounds of insufficient evidence and decided not to prosecute. They determined that Kim's actions did not constitute intimidation.

Mr. Oh is originally unrelated to the roundhouse kick incident and has been indicted for sending a total of 10 threatening messages that caused sexual humiliation and disgust to Kim between August and October 2023 (under the Sexual Violence Punishment Act, using communication mediums for lewd conduct and intimidation).

He was sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year suspended sentence in the first trial last November, and his second trial is currently ongoing.

Retaliatory lawsuit against the victim, controversy over secondary victimization

Notably, Mr. Oh suddenly filed a counter-suit against Kim for intimidation after the first trial verdict.

Mr. Oh claims that Kim's posts on social media in May of last year, including “Before revealing your real name, live your life a bit” and “Before exposing your real name and face, stop working at the PC room and do real work,” which mentioned his ID, amounted to threats.

However, the police dismissed Mr. Oh's complaint due to insufficient evidence, leading Kim to file a counter-suit against him for false accusation, aiming to raise awareness about the secondary victimization issues faced by crime victims in society.

In an interview with Yonhap News, Kim stated, “Many crime victims experience retaliatory secondary victimization like I have, but they are often too exhausted to bring it to public attention. I want to fight for and raise awareness about secondary victimization on their behalf.”

Meanwhile, the 'Busan roundhouse kick' incident refers to an event on May 22, 2022, when a man in his 30s chased Kim home and brutally assaulted her, attempting to sexually assault her in the shared entrance of an officetel.

The perpetrator, Lee, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for attempted murder and is currently serving his sentence.

Image source: May 22, 2022 'Busan roundhouse kick' incident / Photo provided = Lawyer Vincent of Nam Eun-ho Law Office, material photo for the understanding of the article / gettyimagesbank