Lee, the perpetrator in the "Busan spinning-kick case." [Yonhap]
Lee, the perpetrator in the "Busan spinning-kick case." [Yonhap]

The man behind the so-called "Busan spinning-kick case" is again delaying court proceedings by failing to appear at hearings — this time in his appeal trial on charges of threatening his victim with retaliation, after having done the same during the first trial.

The Busan High Court's Criminal Division 2, presided over by Judge Park Un-sam, postponed Wednesday's first appeal hearing against the defendant, surnamed Lee, in his 30s, to July 22 after he failed to appear. Lee faces charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (retaliatory threats), insult and coercion.

Lee had also skipped the originally scheduled first hearing on May 27, submitting a written notice of absence to the court on the day of each hearing without appearing. The specific reasons he cited were not disclosed.

Before that, Lee had missed three hearings on the day they were scheduled during the first trial in this case, raising suspicions of deliberate delay.

He also failed to appear at hearings in a separate case without notifying his attorney.

The victim, who goes by the pen name Kim Jinju, criticized Lee's behavior as habitual. "The perpetrator is delaying the trial by skipping hearings whenever he pleases," she said. "When a hearing doesn't proceed, the victim has no choice but to leave empty-handed, and there is no way to stop it — it is deeply frustrating."

Lee is accused of repeatedly making retaliatory statements while incarcerated in February 2023, telling a fellow inmate and YouTuber, identified only as A, that he would assault and kill Kim. The allegations came to light after A appeared on a YouTube broadcast following his release and disclosed the remarks.

Lee also faces charges of publicly insulting Kim through conversations with inmates in adjacent cells, sending threatening letters to his former girlfriend, and coercing a cellmate into smuggling in goods purchased during visitations.

The first trial sentenced Lee to one year in prison. Both prosecutors and Lee appealed that ruling.

Lee is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court for the original "Busan spinning-kick" incident, in which he chased down and assaulted Kim — a complete stranger — on a street in Busanjin-gu at around 5 a.m. on May 22, 2022, in an attempt to sexually assault her.


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com