'Group Sexual Assault' Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon Sentenced to Prison... 5 Years and 2 Years 6 Months Respectively (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] Singer Jung Joon-young, who was accused of gang raping intoxicated women and distributing illegally filmed sexual videos, has been sentenced to five years in prison. Choi Jong-hoon, a former member of the group FT Island, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.

On the 24th, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Park Sang-ok) announced that it upheld the lower court's guilty verdict in the appeal trial of Jung and Choi, who were charged with violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (special rape) and other charges.

Jung and Choi were indicted on charges of gang raping women who were intoxicated in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province in January 2016 and in Daegu in March of the same year, along with other members of the so-called 'Jung Joon-young group chat' including Heo, Kwon, and Kim. In particular, Jung was also charged with distributing illegally filmed videos 11 times, including sending videos of sexual acts with women in a KakaoTalk chatroom involving celebrities at the end of 2015.

In the first trial held last November, Jung was sentenced to six years in prison, 80 hours of sexual violence treatment programs, and a five-year employment ban at institutions related to children and adolescents as well as welfare facilities for the disabled. Choi was sentenced to five years in prison, 80 hours of sexual violence treatment programs, and a five-year employment ban at similar institutions. Kim and Kwon were sentenced to five years and four years in prison respectively, while Heo received nine months in prison with a two-year probation.

They all filed appeals against the first trial verdict, and the prosecution also appealed. In the appeal trial held last May, Jung was sentenced to five years in prison, 80 hours of sexual violence treatment programs, and a five-year employment ban at institutions related to children and adolescents and welfare facilities for the disabled. Choi was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, 80 hours of sexual violence treatment programs, and a three-year employment ban at similar institutions.

Both received reduced sentences of one year and two years and six months respectively compared to the first trial. Among the other three defendants, Kim was sentenced to four years in prison and a five-year employment ban at institutions related to children and adolescents and welfare facilities for the disabled, while the sentences for the other two defendants were upheld.

On this day, the Supreme Court also dismissed all appeals, stating that "there is no illegality in the lower court's ruling regarding the legal principles on special rape and forced molestation." The claim that the KakaoTalk chat contents supporting the criminal charges were illegally obtained was also rejected, as in the lower courts. The court pointed out, "The KakaoTalk chat contents are essential materials for discovering the truth," and added, "The public interest is significant, and it is natural to bear social responsibility comparable to reputation and wealth."