The Korea Bar Association (KBA) has taken the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office to court for its mishandling of a young rape victim.
Representing the family of the nine-year-old girl, the KBA has demanded in their damages suit that the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office should pay 30 million won in compensation to the victim's family. The lawsuit was filed at the Seoul Central District Court, Tuesday.
The lawyers' group said that the prosecutors' office had repeatedly called in the young victim for questioning, subjecting her to unnecessary duress.
In its lawsuit, the KBA claims that the prosecutors' office responsible for the case didn't promptly exhibit a videotape of Cho Doo-soon, the convicted rapist, after he was apprehended.
Instead, the prosecutors' office put the victim on the witness stand, an act that forced her to re-live the horrible experience, the lawyers said.
If the videotape had been shown, which contradicted Cho's claim that he had white hair and a pair of glasses, thus not making him the culprit, the 9-year-old girl would not have needed to take the stand. The lawyers also raised a question about the clumsiness the prosecutors' office showed during the taping of the victim's testimony when she was in the hospital.
The KBA claim that the prosecutors' office didn't follow the protocols in obtaining testimony from a minor, taping her in plain sight of other patients at a hospital ward. The victim was forced to repeat her testimony four times because of a technician's mistake.
The so-called Na-young case caused nationwide uproar when the Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling, confirming Cho, the 57-year-old man, to 12 years behind bars on the premise that he acted under the influence of alcohol.
The public outrage was triggered when Na-young, the victim's alias, was known to have suffered damage that would affect her throughout her life. Now, a bill is being introduced to dole out heavier sentences on rapists who prey on children. Chemical castration is being proposed as one means of dealing with these predators.
foolsdie@koreatimes.co.kr
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