BJ Pai, who has spoken publicly about being a victim of sexual assault. [Pai Channel]
BJ Pai, who has spoken publicly about being a victim of sexual assault. [Pai Channel]

Afreeca TV broadcaster BJ Pai, whose real name is Kang Da-on, filed a criminal complaint against a man she accused of sexually assaulting her, but a court acquitted the defendant at the first-instance trial Wednesday. Pai said she was devastated by the verdict.

On Tuesday, Pai went live on her Soop channel in a broadcast titled "Pai — Today, first-instance trial day for quasi-forcible indecent assault."

That day, Pai said she was in disbelief. "The first-instance ruling came out today — they say he's not guilty. How can there be an acquittal?" she said, expressing despair.

Rapper Kerrigan May, a close friend of Pai's, also shared on Instagram that day the contents of a KakaoTalk exchange between the two. The messages showed Pai writing, "May, I love you," "Please make sure you get revenge for me," and "I'm begging you. I was really victimized — I am the victim."

Kerrigan May wrote in the post: "My friend BJ Pai has suffered for years through litigation over a sexual assault case, and the verdict came out today — they say the perpetrator is not guilty. There were witnesses at the scene that day and CCTV evidence clearly exists. Why is the law like this?"

The incident allegedly took place in September 2024. Pai said that after a group dinner, she got into a vehicle driven by a designated driver while intoxicated and was heading to a hotel she had booked.

At the time, Pai posted a notice on her channel saying she had "a heavy matter to share," disclosing the alleged assault and her subsequent response. She said she "was sexually assaulted on the 14th," adding that she "filed a complaint against the perpetrator the very next day for quasi-forcible indecent assault, and the perpetrator has denied it."

Pai said the man she filed the complaint against, identified only as Mr. A, was "someone I had crossed paths with a few times in work-related, official settings — someone who only knew my name and face." She said she wanted to make clear "there was absolutely no personal relationship between us."

According to Pai's account, Mr. A had arrived at the hotel first, then told the designated driver he was with her party and took over the vehicle, driving it himself to an alley near the hotel. Pai alleged that during this process, Mr. A touched her body and assaulted her.

Mr. A's side rebuffed the account, saying he had only followed her out of concern because she was heavily intoxicated.

He maintained that he had stopped the vehicle in the alley at Pai's request and denied touching her body.

Pai had previously said she still could not understand why Mr. A — a married man — would commit such a crime against her, and that she had "suffered severe psychological pain and shock afterward and sought psychiatric treatment."

She added that while she was "scared and frightened, knowing all too well that this would once again put me at the center of controversy and cause me pain," she said "the perpetrator's brazen attitude made it impossible for me to stay silent about this case."

The court acknowledged certain circumstances — including that Mr. A had arrived at the hotel first and taken over the vehicle — but found that there was insufficient objective evidence, such as dashcam footage, to directly confirm what had actually occurred inside the vehicle.

The court accordingly acquitted Mr. A at the first-instance trial on Tuesday, nearly two years after the alleged incident.

Pai has been active as an internet broadcaster since 2014 and became more widely known through appearances on the web variety show "Money Game" and Wavve's "Blood Game 2."


yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com