[Phone conversation between the late Chae Dan-bi and her friend / Actual recording (Dec. 28, 2025): I really want to die so badly, what should I do? What do I do about this? I want to die, what should I do?]<br /> <br /> CCTV footage has been released regarding the case of a part-time worker who took her own life after reporting a sexual assault.
<br /> Last December, the late Chae Dan-bi, who worked at a pub in Danwon-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, reported her 40s employer on charges of quasi-rape.
<br /> Danbi claimed she was sexually assaulted by the pub owner during a drinking gathering held after closing. CCTV footage from the day of the incident showed her talking with the owner and appearing to wipe away tears, followed by a scene where the owner hugged and dragged an unsteady Danbi from behind.
<br /> [Phone conversation between the late Chae Dan-bi and her friend / Actual recording (Dec. 28, 2025): Suddenly, you know seat number 19 in front of the smoking room (a very secluded spot)? Yeah, he suddenly took me there and the owner suddenly... He actually did that. I kept saying this wasn't right and that I really hated it, but he kept going (What did the owner say?) He told me there were no CCTV cameras there, it was fine, and asked me to come over just once.]
<br /> <br /> Danbi reported the victimization to a nearby police box on the afternoon of the incident, underwent police questioning, and received a medical examination at an obstetrics and gynecology clinic.
<br /> However, 52 days after the incident, a police notice of non-indictment arrived, and Danbi took her own life three days later.
<br /> [Friend of the late Chae Dan-bi: She just completely collapsed... It was my first time seeing her like that. We waited, but the non-indictment decision came down, and I think that was an even greater shock to Danbi.]
<br /> Colleagues who worked with Danbi say that the pub owner usually liked alcohol and spoke freely about Danbi.
<br /> [Pub part-time colleague: (When he drinks) he talks a lot, has physical contact regardless of whether the part-time workers are male or female, and frequently said things like, 'Danbi is really pretty, Danbi is truly pretty.' Like, 'Men like faces like Danbi's.']
<br /> <br /> Blood tests taken on the afternoon of the incident showed Danbi's blood alcohol concentration was 0.085%, a level of extreme intoxication sufficient for license revocation. Based on the time the sexual assault occurred, it was estimated to have been at least twice that level.
<br /> However, police dropped the case and cleared him of charges, citing that the two individuals smiled, talked, and moved around the pub together before and after the incident, and that there was physical contact during the drinking session.
<br /> [Head of Investigation at Ansan Police Station: CCTV is the most objective evidence. Looking at the footage, you cannot indict on this, and that is easy to understand. There was physical contact from before the sexual act, starting from the drinking gathering. (Can we interpret that touching or contact made two or three hours before the act meant consent to the sexual act?) Because there are statements from staff and statements from the suspect, and he perceived that a normal person would judge and think it was normal, it is hard to view that he recognized the victim was in a state of mental incapacity and took advantage of it.]
<br /> Police did not summon Danbi for additional questioning aside from the day she filed the report, and experts point out that wrapping up the case without further investigation into the victim amounts to shoddy policing.
<br /> [Pyo Chang-won / Criminal Profiler: Did the investigator in charge of this case properly understand the unique characteristics involved in sexual violence cases, the factors to watch out for, and parts that can easily be overlooked if one is not careful.]
<br /> [Oh Sun-hee / Lawyer and Former Prosecutor: They should have additionally verified whether the perpetrator's claims were true. If you just intuitively say, 'Oh, the stories differ. Choose the more comfortable one,' then it stops being an investigation and becomes nothing more than fortune-telling.]
<br /> Netizens who came across the case expressed angry reactions, commenting, "How aggrieved must the bereaved family be to disclose the deceased's real name and face?" and "Investigate properly and punish the perpetrator."
<br /> (Reported by Yoon Sung-sik | Video by Kim Na-on | Image source: Unanswered Questions Episode 1500 | Produced by SBS Digital News)