"Who Is the Abolition of Supplementary Investigation Authority For?" Busan Spinning Kick Victim Speaks Out

"Victims' Voices Overlooked... Improving Existing Systems Is Preferable"

The victim of the 'Busan spinning kick' incident, Ms. Kim, has voiced her opposition to the proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act, which would abolish the prosecution's authority to conduct supplementary investigations.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the Busan spinning kick incident. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to Yonhap News on July 12, Ms. Kim emphasized, "It is absolutely necessary to have safeguards in place that allow an incident to be re-examined from an objective perspective."

The 'Busan spinning kick' incident that Ms. Kim experienced was initially reported as a 'random assault'. However, a supplementary investigation by the prosecution later revealed that the crime had been committed with the intent to sexually assault her. Subsequently, the court also acknowledged the shortcomings of the initial police investigation and ruled in favor of Ms. Kim in a state compensation lawsuit.

Ms. Kim described her case as "a representative example of how the essence of a case can change depending on an investigator's will and determination," adding, "If the police had conducted a proper investigation from the beginning, I might have recovered from the trauma more quickly and felt less threatened for my life."

She continued, "I want to ask the police officers who investigated at the time if they could not have paid a little more attention," and added, "If the situation had been such that I, as the victim, did not have to step forward myself, I would not be living with the constant fear of not knowing when I might die." She further questioned, "Even now, this is the reality. If the prosecution's supplementary investigation function disappears, where will crime victims have another opportunity to have their cases re-examined?"

Ms. Kim also pointed out, "Although there is talk of acting in the name of protecting victims, throughout the process of prosecution reform, the opinions of victims were never properly collected," adding, "If the authority to conduct supplementary investigations is abolished, nobody explains how victims' rights will change or how any resulting harm will be addressed." She went on to say, "In fact, due to recent prosecution reforms, the waiting period for trial results has become even longer for victims, and discussions on amending the Criminal Procedure Act seem to focus only on shortening detention periods, conditional releases, and strengthening suspects' rights, as if the sole focus is on expanding the rights of offenders."

She further argued that if there are problems within the prosecution, it would be more desirable to establish systems to provide oversight. Ms. Kim stressed, "Abolishing the function of an entire institution could disrupt the balance," adding, "I believe that rather than creating new systems, improving our society means supplementing and enhancing the shortcomings of existing systems."

Meanwhile, the 'Busan spinning kick incident' occurred in Seomyeon, Busanjin-gu, Busan, in May 2022. Initially, the perpetrator, Mr. Lee, was known to have randomly assaulted Ms. Kim while she was on her way home. The police forwarded the case on charges of inflicting serious injury, but the prosecution indicted Mr. Lee on attempted murder charges, and in the first trial, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

However, during the appeals process, evidence emerged that the crime was an attempted rape and murder. Key evidence submitted included closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the scene, statements from responding police officers, and the jeans Ms. Kim was wearing at the time. The perpetrator's DNA was detected inside the jeans, which are structured in a way that makes them difficult to remove unintentionally. The prosecution amended the charges from attempted murder to attempted rape and murder, and the appeals court found Mr. Lee guilty of sexual assault, sentencing him to 20 years in prison, stating, "The defendant committed the crime by targeting the victim for sexual violence."

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