It is expected that the police and prosecutors will not prosecute the twin sisters Lee Jae-young and Lee Da-young (27) for defamation against the victims of bullying, saying that the victims’ claims of bullying the twin sisters are not false.
This is because the prosecution did not prove that the twin sisters’ accusations were false, and did not even prosecute them in court, saying that the victims’ crimes of defamation could not be established.
On the afternoon of the 14th, we reached out to Ongil Entertainment Law Center, the law firm representing the Lee Jae-young and Lee Da-young abuse victims, to ask about the current status of the case.
The Ongil Entertainment Law Center sent us a short comment, a statement from the victims, and some captures of the prosecution’s “reasons for non-prosecution”.
“Our clients (the victims) have long struggled to vigorously prove their innocence as defendants in this case, and have had to deal with the pain of this case in addition to the scars of past bullying,” the center said.
“At this time, our clients are physically and mentally exhausted, and since we are not legal professionals, it is very difficult for us to respond to the various inquiries from various reporters. We ask for your understanding in this regard.”
Meanwhile, sisters Lee Jae-young and Lee Da-young filed a complaint with the police last year, accusing the victims of false and untimely defamation. However, the police decided not to send the case to the prosecutor’s office. They rejected the twins’ claims and sided with the victims.
On May 31, the prosecutor’s office again dismissed the case, stating that the victims’ disclosures were neither false nor defamatory. The twin sisters were defeated by both the police and prosecutors.
‘Testimonies’ from all the players, managers, and high school coaches at the time
However, the prosecution’s statement of reasons for non-prosecution, which was sent to this reporter by the Ongil Entertainment Law Center, contained ‘new facts’ that had not been known until now.
During the course of the prosecution’s investigation, it was revealed that all of the women’s volleyball players at the time of the twin sisters’ abuse, the director who managed the players’ dormitory life, and even elementary, middle, and high school volleyball players and high school coaches “denied the claims of Lee Jae-young and Lee Da-young and stated that the victims’ disclosures of abuse were true.”
“In particular, all of the female volleyball players in the background of the post (the victims’ 2021 abuse disclosures) denied the claims of the complainants (Lee Jae-young and Lee Da-young) and stated that the contents of the post were true,” the prosecutors wrote in their reasons for non-prosecution.
The prosecution also stated, “The situation in which the supervisor who managed the players’ dormitory life stated that the contents of the post were all true.”
The prosecution also noted that “elementary, middle, and high school volleyball players and high school coaches also stated that the core content of the post, ‘the complainants engaged in school violence against their fellow players, including cheering, assaulting, and cursing,’ was an actual incident.”
This shows that very few former and current players agree with the twins’ allegations, and that most believe the victims’ accounts are true.
“The defendants (victims) have consistently stated that the content of the posts in question is what they actually experienced (were victimized by),” the prosecution said, and “000’s psychiatric records are confirmed to be credible data that supplement the defendants’ claims.”
“It is difficult to conclude that the main content of the two posts at issue, ‘The complainants were perpetrators of school bullying who beat, assaulted, cursed, and forced them to run errands,’ was false or made under false pretenses.”
Prosecution “Revealing twins’ abuse is not falsehood or defamation”
The prosecution also concluded in its reason for non-prosecution that most of the contents of Lee Jae-young and Lee Da-young’s abuse during their junior high school volleyball team (Nos. 1-21), which the victims of the abuse disclosed on February 10, 2021, through posts on a portal site, were “not false and defamatory.
In particular, the court wrote that “it is difficult to recognize that the victims’ disclosures, such as ‘threatening the victims with a knife,’ ‘collecting money from the victims for fines and other reasons at the direction of Lee Jae-young and using it arbitrarily while being managed by the twin sisters,’ and ‘collecting money, pinching their stomachs, and hitting them with fists,’ are not false.”
The court also ruled that “it is difficult to recognize that the victims’ disclosures are false,” such as “pinching their stomachs severely and making them cry,” “Lee Jae-young cursing at the victims and forcing them to borrow his clothes,” and “hitting the victims for not putting up a fight during meetings.
In this regard, the Ongil Entertainment Law Center, which represents victims of school violence, issued an official statement on the 13th, stating that “it has been objectively confirmed that Lee Da-young’s school violence against the victims is true.”
It also emphasized that “the prosecution’s decision not to prosecute confirms the unfairness of Lee Da-young and Lee Jae-young’s claims that the school violence is a falsehood or that the disclosure of the school violence constitutes defamation.”
Victim’s lawyers “no remorse for perpetrators”… active response to ‘secondary victimization’
The victims’ lawyers also strongly criticized the sisters’ treatment of their victims.
“They even said that they wanted to meet with the victims to ask them why they had written the posts, and demanded that they publicly apologize to the victims for publicly disclosing the bullying,” the lawyers said.
“There was no sign of remorse or apology as a perpetrator of bullying,” the lawyers said.
The lawyers also pointed out that “recently, Lee Da-young has been giving interviews to the media, claiming false facts about the bullying of the victims and the settlement process with the victims, causing them extreme pain once again.”
“In order to prevent secondary victimization of the victims, we are disclosing the part of the prosecution’s reason for non-prosecution regarding falsehoods.”
Twin ‘worsening public opinion’ inevitable. Kim Yeon-kyung sniping also a ‘headwind’
Meanwhile, sisters Lee Jae-young and Lee Da-young are expected to suffer a major blow in their future endeavors as the cases they filed against their victims were rejected not only by the police but also by prosecutors.
In particular, it is no exaggeration to say that the logic of “Lee Jae-young is not related to the abuse case” that the twin sisters have been arguing since August 5 has lost its persuasiveness with the police and prosecutors’ decision to dismiss the twin sisters’ claims and not prosecute the victims.
The “Kim Yeon-kyung sniping” campaign is also bound to lose credibility and momentum. The twin sisters have recently been publicly sniping at Kim Yeon-kyung (35) to create an issue, but they have been heavily criticized by the public. On the other hand, it has also created a backlash, as public opinion in favor of and sympathy for Kim has grown.
The possibility of a counterattack from the victims’ side cannot be ruled out. In their statement, the victims’ lawyers warned that they will “take a strong legal response to the speculative reports and malicious comments that have been generated indiscriminately recently.”스포츠토토
On the other hand, some people are calling for support for the victims, who have suffered greatly from the twin sisters’ accusations.
On the 13th, when the prosecution’s decision not to prosecute was announced, some volleyball fan sites wrote, “If you need a petition urging the perpetrators to be punished, I will send it to you as much as you need,” and “I want to help the victims with their legal fees. Let’s organize a fundraising campaign”.
Addendum | This article also appears on Breaking News.
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