Public petition approaching 20,000 signatures urges investigation into supporting actress sexual assault case

Public calls to uncover the truth behind a past gang sexual assault case involving a supporting actress are growing louder.

A petition titled 'Request for a Parliamentary Hearing and Special Prosecutor Investigation into the Supporting Actress Gang Sexual Assault Case,' posted on the National Assembly’s electronic public petition platform, had garnered close to 20,000 signatures as of the afternoon of January 3.

In the petition, the petitioner explained the purpose as seeking clarification on “how the charges in the supporting actress sisters’ suicide case were withdrawn under pressure from state authorities, how the victim was later portrayed as the perpetrator, and the circumstances surrounding the suicides.”

The petitioner further claimed that the victim, identified as A, who worked as a supporting actress, was subjected to sexual assault and molestation more than 40 times in 2004 by 12 heads of background actors. Despite this, the petitioner alleged that she did not receive a proper investigation and that the absence and failure of public authority prevented justice from being served.

According to the petition, A took her own life in 2009. Her younger sister, identified as B, later also died by suicide after attending her sister’s funeral, reportedly overwhelmed by guilt for having introduced her to part-time work as a background actor.

The sisters’ mother has continued what the petitioner described as a lonely struggle to uncover the truth behind the case. “The judge also stated in the additional remarks of the ruling that this case represented a tragic failure of public authority,” the petitioner wrote. “A thorough investigation is needed into the circumstances that forced the victim to withdraw her complaint. We respectfully request a National Assembly hearing and the appointment of a special prosecutor.”