The victim in the "Busan spinning-kick case" sheds tears during an interview after the appeals court hearing at Busan High Court in Yeonje-gu, Busan, in June 2023. [Yonhap]
The victim in the "Busan spinning-kick case" sheds tears during an interview after the appeals court hearing at Busan High Court in Yeonje-gu, Busan, in June 2023. [Yonhap]

Kim Jin-ju (a pseudonym), the victim in the "Busan spinning-kick case," has asked President Lee Jae Myung to veto the amended Code of Criminal Procedure.

On Monday, Kim wrote on her X (formerly Twitter) account: "Mr. President, I installed X because of the abolition of the supplementary investigation authority and the dissolution of the Prosecution Service. I thought you might see it here."

She went on to say, "Please, can you not be on the victim's side?" and pleaded, "Please exercise your veto. I am begging you."

Kim also shared a YouTube video titled "Why a victim opposes the abolition of the supplementary investigation authority." She wrote, "If anyone says the victim doesn't really know what she's talking about, please watch this video in full. Over the past year, I have attended more seminars, forums and interviews than anyone else."

Lee has previously used his X account as a key communication channel, including replying directly to individuals who mentioned him.

On Sunday, Kim left a comment on a Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min's Instagram post saying, "Go to hell." The lawmaker had posted a photo of himself paying his respects at the tomb of former President Roh Moo-hyun at Bongha Village in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, writing that he had "offered the passed criminal procedure amendment at the grave."

The perpetrator in the "Busan spinning-kick case," identified only by his surname Lee. [Yonhap]
The perpetrator in the "Busan spinning-kick case," identified only by his surname Lee. [Yonhap]

The Busan spinning-kick case that Kim survived was initially treated as a random assault, but a prosecutors' supplementary investigation later revealed the attack had been carried out with intent to sexually assault her.

At a forum held at the National Assembly on July 23, Kim said, "Thanks to the supplementary investigation authority, the charges against the perpetrator were upgraded from bodily injury to attempted murder with intent to rape." She added, "Without the supplementary investigation, I would never have known I was a victim of a sex crime, and the perpetrator would already be back at my side."

She went on to say, "If the supplementary investigation authority is abolished, victims may have to hire lawyers from the police investigation stage and gather evidence themselves," and stressed that "a mechanism to verify the judgment of one agency one more time is necessary."

The amendment, which passed the National Assembly floor vote on Friday, would abolish prosecutors' authority to conduct direct investigations and supplementary investigations.

The bill is expected to clear a Cabinet meeting as early as this week. The People Power Party has demanded that Lee exercise his veto, calling the amendment "the death of the rule of law in the Republic of Korea." The Democratic Party has fired back, saying, "Stop immediately trying to reverse prosecution reform by using constitutional petitions as a tool of political strife."


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