The victim of groping at a restaurant told her side of the story last week, offering an alternative view of the heated public dispute over the high-profile court case -- which resulted in the conviction of the man in question -- and the offender’s wife’s online petition insisting on his innocence.



In an interview with a local media outlet, the victim stated that she had received an influx of hateful emails and a flurry of social media messages as a result of the case, which began Nov. 26 last year when a man groped her buttocks as she was coming out of a private room around 1 a.m. at an oxtail soup restaurant in Daejeon’s Yuseong district.



On Sept. 5, a local court found the man guilty of committing an “indecent act in a crowded public place.” The next day, the assailant’s wife proclaimed her husband’s innocence on an online community for car lovers called Bobae Dream.







Footage comparison (YouTube)



The heart of the wife’s argument is that security footage does not show any physical contact between her husband and the victim because an object blocks the camera’s view. This sparked a public outcry, with many online readers believing the woman’s claim that her husband might have been convicted on insufficient evidence.



During police questioning, the man reportedly denied the groping allegation at first. After seeing the security footage, however, he said he could not remember exactly what had happened because he had consumed 15 “poktanju,” or mixed drinks containing beer and soju, just before the incident.



The court sentenced him to a six-month jail term and 40 hours of treatment for perpetrators of sexual violence. He is also prohibited from seeking employment at any establishment involving contact with minors for the next three years. Now behind bars, he is appealing his conviction to a higher court.



The victim’s interview took place amid the deepening controversy sparked by the defendant’s wife, who was not at the restaurant at the time of the incident and whose online petition with Cheong Wa Dae garnered over 200,000 signatures within four days. The presidential office responds to petitions that gain more than 200,000 signatures in a month.







Surveillance footage (YouTube)