[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Shin-won] Participants involved in the so-called 'Nth Room' and 'Doctor's Room' sexual exploitation sharing cases, where women were threatened to produce sexual exploitation materials and distributed on Telegram, have reportedly been submitting letters of apology one after another. This includes not only 'Taepyeongyang' but also 'Watchman' and Han Mo, who was identified as an accomplice of Jo Joo-bin. There is growing interest in whether these letters of apology could actually influence sentencing.
On the 31st, appearing on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' lawyer Baek Seong-moon said, "(The effect of letters of apology written by suspects) depends on the judge's discretion," adding, "It’s not that a reduction in sentence is automatically granted; if the judge thinks a reduction is warranted, submitting a letter of apology can be effective, but if the judge has no intention of reducing the sentence, submitting one is meaningless."
Lawyer Jo Su-jin, who appeared together, agreed and explained, "The reason lawyers always advise writing a letter of apology is to do the best one can. Globally, the 'mitigation of punishment system' exists only in countries like South Korea and Japan. It means that even without official evidence, if the judge sees fit to show mercy and reduce the sentence, it can be done. The sentence can be reduced by up to half."
She continued, "One of the conditions for sentence reduction according to the Supreme Court Sentencing Commission is confession, remorse, and settlement."
Lawyer Baek said, "There is no specific format for a letter of apology," adding, "Some judges carefully review letters of apology, and usually, whether the person is truly remorseful can be seen in the writing. Even if it’s just one page, a sincere letter is different."
However, he noted, "Some judges do not pay much attention to letters of apology that contain predictable content. But since submitting a letter of apology can lead to a sentence reduction, it’s good if it works out, and if not, there’s nothing to be done. Therefore, lawyers advise clients to write one regardless of whether they feel remorse or not."
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