Junior who claimed “Ki Sung-yueng committed sexual assault” loses appeal, too; ordered to pay 100 million won

[Financial News] An elementary-school junior who claimed footballer Ki Sung-yueng (Pohang Steelers) sexually assaulted them also lost the appeal, making the damages ruling final.
On the 23rd, a three-judge panel of the Seoul High Court’s Civil Division 13-3, comprising Judges Hwang Jin-gu, Baek Kang-jin and Lee Gyu-hong, ruled partly in Ki’s favor in his damages lawsuit against his junior, A, upholding the first-instance ruling. The first-instance court had ordered A and B, who raised the sexual-assault allegations, to jointly pay Ki 100 million won. B did not appeal, so the damages ruling against B became final.
The panel explained, “Under the relevant legal principles, the party claiming that such events occurred must present evidence sufficient to be persuasive,” adding, “The first-instance court found it difficult to conclude that the defendants had adequately substantiated their claims, and the appellate court also found the first-instance ruling sound.”
A and B, elementary-school juniors of Ki Sung-yueng, claimed they had been sexually assaulted by senior students, including Ki, from January to June 2000, while they were members of a football team at an elementary school in Jeollanam-do. They did not name Ki directly at the time, but the alleged perpetrator could be inferred from the content of their claims.
Ki Sung-yueng maintained his innocence and filed criminal complaints against the two in 2021, as well as a 500 million won damages lawsuit. In 2023, the Seocho Police Station in Seoul dismissed the complaint against A and B without charges, citing insufficient evidence. It also found insufficient evidence related to the allegations that Ki had committed sexual violence.
[email protected] Kim Hee-sun Reporter