"Playing Hospital with Dad": Sisters Sexually Abused by Their Biological Father for 14 Years Starting at Age 4... Older Sister Dies (Smoking Gun)

[Sportschosun Park Araem] On the evening of February 6, 2015, 24-year-old Lee Seo-yoon was dramatically rescued by police after being found precariously hanging from the railing of Hannam Bridge. A suicide note found at her home included the line, "I miss my older sister so much." Investigators later found that her older sister had died a year earlier. What on earth happened to the sisters?

The shocking truth came to light when the eldest daughter turned 20. She told her mother that she had been sexually harassed and raped by her father since childhood, with the abuse beginning when she was just 4 years old. Her biological father continued the assaults, telling her, "This is just hospital play with Dad. You must never tell anyone." She mustered the courage to ask her grandmother for help, but instead of protection, she was met with silence and pressure to keep quiet. Her grandmother scolded the child and shut her down, pushing the young victim even deeper into isolation. The abuse continued even after her parents divorced. Her father would call her out on her way home from school, assault her, and give her money. In counseling records, the victim wrote, "Whenever I went to see my father, it felt like I was selling my body."

After hearing the case, Lee Ji-hye said, "I felt so heartbroken, wondering how frightened the child must have been to ask for a latch on her door," and added, "What shocked me most was that the child who asked for help was instead forced into silence." Ahn Hyun-mo also said, "It is unbelievable that she was hurt by the adults she should have trusted most inside the home, the place that should have been the safest," adding, "It is especially heartbreaking that she was not protected even after reporting the abuse."

Actor Kang Suk-woo made a special appearance on the program and read aloud a story that the real victim had sent to a radio show before her death. After revisiting the letter, Kang said, "It is not your fault. You have to get out of that situation somehow," and added, "There are definitely people in this world who will reach out to someone asking for help." He then said, "Looking back now, I thought that letter was a message for someone else, but it seems it was actually a cry for rescue sent to us," expressing deep sorrow.

The broadcast also features former Park Mi-hye, then a senior inspector with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Special Investigation Unit for Sexual Violence, who directly investigated the case and reveals how the long-buried truth finally came to light after more than 20 years. In addition, attorney Seo Hye-jin examines the legal issues surrounding intrafamilial sex crimes and the statute of limitations.

A truth hidden for more than 20 years. A mother and daughter's lives, ultimately shattered. The program looks into the crime committed in the place that should have been the safest, and the tragedy that destroyed their lives.

tokkig@sportschosun.com