Victims of the 'Dogani' sexual assault lose their case.

[modernelegance.livejournal.com]

[I'm not sure whether there should be a trigger warning for sexual assault/violence or not as there are no details of the events, but I am putting it here just in case.]


A damage compensation suit raised by the sexual molestation and rape victims of the so-called “Dogani” incident was thrown out by the judges of the Seoul Central District Court.

The Dogani incident occurred in Gwangju Inhwa School, a school for hearing-impaired students in Gwangju in the southwest, in which at least nine of their deaf-mute students were sexually abused by six teachers including the principal between 2000 and 2003.

Of the six perpetrators, four received prison terms, while the other two were freed because the statute of limitations for their crimes had expired. Even for the four, two were released after less than a year in jail and four of the six teachers were reinstated in the school.

The real-life events were later published in a book in 2009 and then adapted into a movie “The Crucible [Silenced]” (Dogani in Korean) in 2011 that drew almost 5 million viewers.

The civil court judges of the court said in a statement, “The seven victims of the incident raised a compensation suit against the central government and the city government for negligence in supervising the public school. But they did so after the statute of limitations for demanding compensation to the state had expired and there is not enough evidence to find fault with the state that led to sexual abuse.”

To this, the attorneys who represented the plaintiffs said, “It is regrettable that the judges did not acknowledge the victims’ trauma as injury and just stated the statute of limitations has expired. We will appeal the case to a higher court.”

The plaintiffs had raised the civil suit in 2012 to ask for compensation of 445 million won (US$419,000) for neglecting to supervise the Wooseok Foundation, the operating organization for Gwangju Inhwa School.

To the verdict, Internet discussion boards were abuzz with critical comments such as “Is Korea a paradise for sex offenders?” and “It is lamentable that I live in an underdeveloped country when it comes to sex crimes.”


Korea Bizwire | Korean Herald [Pic]

I am glad there will be an appeal. I loathe that statute of limitations exists especially in cases of sexual assaults where minors are involved. I could rant about this for days but will stop so I don't become one of my own sources. LOL. Silenced was the first movie I saw with Gong Yoo and really this has been the basis of why I adore him so much.

Comments

[twnty7.livejournal.com]

This is so sad and wrong. All of those teachers deserved to be locked up forever, not fucking reinstated.

[yuzuruhanyu.livejournal.com]

ugh i can't believe these kids haven't received any justice yet. My hopes and prayers go out to them.

Silenced is a movie that still haunts me. everyone should go watch it if they're interested in this case, but its so hard to watch.

[modernelegance.livejournal.com]

Now I can rant about this properly in a comment.

Seriously, this case burns me up like no other. Silenced is SUCH a difficult movie to watch but I think it's necessary...it takes child abuse from just an arms distant issue and is so in your face you can't help but be passionate. My antennas were already in tune to children in abusive situations but the movie (and the case overall) really get me going. We have our own problems in the US about child abuse scandals (ESPECIALLY in the context of religious culture) but these cases expose bigger problems where those in assumed authority go unchecked for years while the victims suffer in silence ... but yet when they are old enough to find their voice we tell them "Sorry, too late...you should have spoken up sooner". Expecting children to be able to process and understand what has happened to them is COMPLETELY unrealistic and it only enables long patterns of abusive behavior.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

How is that school even still operating if the sex offender teachers were reinstated! I cannot understand why known sex offenders are allowed to work with children. American has the same problem with the cover ups and allowing perverts to transfer to new locations and have access to more victims.

[modernelegance.livejournal.com]

The school closed 2 months after "Silenced" came out [Nov 2011...which shows the power of the movie, TBH] ...but I am assuming that the teachers who were reinstated are still allowed to teach if they found jobs elsewhere?

[torontok.livejournal.com]

How the fuck are those teachers free and reinstated? So they can go and abuse some more poor children, and then this cycle can repeat itself again?
I'm so disgusted.I hope their appeal is successful

[oppameansit.livejournal.com]

four of the six teachers were reinstated in the school.

WHAT

[somacomatose.livejournal.com]

ridiculous. Silenced was so difficult to sit through, cannot imagine the horror of living it. SO ANGRY that justice has not been served.

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

The netizen comments I read about this last week were in an uproar, and rightfully so, about the ridiculousness of their justice system and how crimes are handled

[yulia-eru.livejournal.com]

I hope you don't mind me asking, but where have you seen those comments?

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

No problem. I go through forums with my Korean teacher so I'll ask her where we read

[yulia-eru.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[timetobegin.livejournal.com]

If anything in this world angers me it's that there is an expiration date on crimes. Fucking hell if someone fucked up, they should take responsibility for that - and instead the justic system tells victims they should have brought it forward sooner. Fuck off.

[modernelegance.livejournal.com]

MTE.

[ababobaby.livejournal.com]

I'm still not ove r this

[shintotchi.livejournal.com]

This is sad news. I was hoping the case would go in their favor, thanks to the movie, but Korea's horrible law system prevailed. I hope the appeal works. :/

[sandritablue.livejournal.com]

At the simple thought of the movie silenced my eyes get all teary, it was so hard to watch that move.....my heart broke into a million pieces.

[kittyboo17.livejournal.com]

I remember that when I watched the movie, it haunted me for days ;; I'd even started looking up info when I discovered it was based on a real life event and it would be brought to court, I felt so much injustice!...I can't believe that they lost their case ;;

I hope the appeal works !!!

[kashiyaek.livejournal.com]

this is all so wrong and disgusting in so many ways.
i really really hope the appeal works out.

[in-noctem.livejournal.com]

"four of the six teachers were reinstated in the school"

I honestly feel sick at the thought that sex offenders can just waltz into another school to get a job and that they actually got hired.

Ugh the movie messed me up so bad, I can't imagine what the kids went through. I hope for their sake that people keep fighting this case and that these assholes rot in jail where they belong.

[jackieee94.livejournal.com]

Those pigs should be locked up and rotting away, they shouldn't be roaming free. Every judge should see this movie. I hope the victims and their family get the justice they deserve.

[lainmyownworld.livejournal.com]

this movie had me in tears it was horrible ;_; i dont even want to think about this again

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

Statute of limitation shouldn't exist for sexual crime (among others)
It is hard enough for a victim to speak up, they should be able to speak when they're ready, not when the court is "available"

And the fact that those teacher were reinstated... well I'm not surprised but I am disgusted

[modernelegance.livejournal.com]

I agree. Children are not able to process what has happened to them...most of them are even groomed/trained by their abusers to think that it's "normal". Just disgusted by this entire thing... :(

[tsuyoi-hikari.livejournal.com]

Statute of limitation shouldn't exist in the first place. Why it exists in the first place is beyond me. >:(

[bauci.livejournal.com]

To the verdict, Internet discussion boards were abuzz with critical comments such as “Is Korea a paradise for sex offenders?

mte

[seroquels.livejournal.com]

Disgusting, heartbreaking and infuriating.

I cannot believe they reinstated the teachers. They shouldn't be allowed to be around people, let alone children.

[suxaholic.livejournal.com]

The movie is almost unbearable to watch as a former child sex abuse victim. this makes me want to throw up.what a fucking backward country

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

That movie still makes me absolutely sick... I can't believe it.

“Is Korea a paradise for sex offenders?” Is an important question to be asking after recent events.

"I loathe that statute of limitations exists especially in cases of sexual assaults where minors are involved." Ia 100% with you OP.

[colorfilm.livejournal.com]

this hits so close to home :/ (I'm deaf and a victim too)

this is disgusting and it makes me rage.

[modernelegance.livejournal.com]

*Hugs* I am so so so sorry for what you have been through and I hope that you gain some sense of justice. *more hugs*

[colorfilm.livejournal.com]

aw oh my god, thank you. I'm pretty new here (it was my first response lol), didn't expect this. <333

[modernelegance.livejournal.com]

Well then, welcome to the community! :D Hope to see you around more often. :D

[colorfilm.livejournal.com]

:D thank you!

[a-cheshire-grin.livejournal.com]

WELCOME! ^.^
A lovely icon you have there!!! ^.~

(http://s581.photobucket.com/user/ayu_my_dearest/media/____.gif.html)

[colorfilm.livejournal.com]

thank you <3

[cairistiona.livejournal.com]

I just feel...cold.

This is awful.

I watched that film when it was released with a male friend who was clearly shaken up about it after it finished, but I just sobbed afterwards, and now every time I think of that film, of what the real children went through, I get teary-eyed. I can't imagine being in a country where it is perfectly acceptable to reinstate people who sexually abused children into teaching jobs where they have easy access to more children, especially when the children are aware of the fact these adults are basically being told they're allowed to keep abusing children. The new children will think it's normal because they haven't been shown that it isn't.

Now to be told that they left it too long to gain compensation is far too upsetting for words. "There is not enough evidence to find fault with the State"? I can't even believe this nonsense. The fact these children were abused in the first place should be proof enough that the State wasn't paying them and their school enough attention. I'm just horrified.

[snowmog.livejournal.com]

And Korea is so concerned about protecting their children from foreigners because Koreans 'just don't do things like that'. *snorts*

What happened to those poor students is awful and I hope it is never repeated again. I hope they can get justice and that more is done to safeguard young people in South Korea. Those teachers should never have been reinstated.