The Seoul Prosecutors Office has decided to reinvestigate sexual abuse claims by the late Jang Ja Yeon.
On March 7th, 2009, the up-and-coming actress committed suicide at the age of 29. In her suicide note, she revealed that she had been forced into sexual acts with prominent executives in the entertainment business and was beaten and abused by her manager as well. In the suicide note she left behind, she included a list of over 30 executives, CEOs, directors, and more with whom she was forced to have sex.
Although the young actress had just come out of a highly successful role in the hit 2009 drama “Boys Over Flowers” and was awaiting the release of her first two films, she had been struggling with depression for quite some time. In her suicide note, she revealed that the abuse had taken its toll on her and was the main contributing factor in her decision to take her life.
Despite the horrific details and news around her suicide, the police suppressed the list of names on the list. However, a portion of the list was later leaked and spread online that included various famous producers for SBS, MBC, and KBS, CEOs and Chairmen (at the time) of companies like Lotte, Kolon, and Olive 9, as well as CEOs or executives for media outlets like The Chosun Ilbo, Sports Chosun, Central Journal, and more.
Out of those on the list, only 20 were investigated by police. Out of that number, only seven were prosecuted. The manager, who arranged most of the meetings and forced her into these situations, as well as physically abused her, was arrested. However, despite his horrible crimes, he was only sentenced to one year in prison.
Earlier this year, new leads had come up that mainly pointed at some of the people named on the list who were originally investigated but were let go due to lack of evidence. In February, thousands of Koreans signed a petition to ask the Blue House to officially investigate the case in detail once more. As such, the case began to be looked into again. As a result of new evidence, it was revealed this week that the Seoul Prosecutors Office has decided to fully reinvestigate the individuals on the list included in Ms. Jang’s suicide note. Those who were previously let go due to lack of evidence will also be reinvestigate as well.
The tragic death of Ms. Jang was something we previously talked about in our article 9 Korean Actors Who Tragically Committed Suicide, an article where we talked about the sometimes dark and depressing lives of famous celebrities who otherwise seem to have it all. With Ms. Jang, we talked specifically about her situation in an attempt to shed light on the reasons she chose to take her life. As an outlet that has long since mourned the loss of this defenseless young actress who was taken advantage of, we are so thrilled that the Seoul Prosecutors Office has decided to re-investigate those named on Ms. Jang’s list of people who abused her.
We hope and pray that this time, the list will be fully investigated to the fullest and most proper amount and that those whose actions led to the death of such a promising, beautiful young woman will finally be called to justice.
Stay tuned for more details on this developing story.
Media: WTK
Source: Osen