Final Verdict Delivered in the 'Jung Joon-young Group Chat'... No 'Twist' Found

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The trials of singer Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon, a former member of FT Island, who were accused of gang raping an intoxicated woman and distributing illegally filmed sexual videos in a KakaoTalk chatroom involving celebrities, have all concluded after one and a half years. Although they denied some charges, no reversal occurred.

On the 24th, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Park Sang-ok) upheld the lower court rulings in the final appeal hearing for Jung and Choi, who were indicted for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (special rape) and other charges. Jung was sentenced to five years in prison, and Choi received two years and six months.

The key point they had hoped for was whether the KakaoTalk chatroom contents were illegally obtained. Jung's side consistently argued, "The KakaoTalk chatroom contents were shared with others without consent and unilaterally submitted to investigative authorities," claiming "the evidence was illegally collected."

This information was first revealed by the legal representative of a whistleblower, presumed to be an anonymous informant working at the mobile company where Jung had requested phone restoration. Accordingly, Jung's side argued that the evidence used to convict him of special rape was secondary evidence illegally obtained and thus should not be admissible.

The court did not accept this. The first trial court ruled that the KakaoTalk chat contents were essential materials for discovering the truth, citing public interest. Since the case involved not only sexual crimes but also suspicions of collusion with famous celebrities, businessmen, and police, the court judged that public interest outweighed the interest in preventing privacy invasion.

The appellate court acknowledged that "there were some immature aspects in the initial evidence collection by investigative authorities," but stated, "It is difficult to consider all evidence as illegal," thereby recognizing the admissibility of the evidence. The court emphasized the need to distinguish between evidence deliberately collected illegally by authorities and evidence collected without meeting necessary procedural requirements.

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 child and youth-related institutions and 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. The other defendants Kim and Kwon received five and four years in prison respectively, while Heo was sentenced to 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 appellate trial held in May, Jung was sentenced to five years in prison, 80 hours of sexual violence treatment programs, and a five-year employment ban at child and youth-related institutions and 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 sentence reductions 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 child and youth-related institutions and facilities for the disabled, while the sentences for the other two defendants were upheld.

The Supreme Court also dismissed all appeals, stating, "There is no illegality in the lower court's rulings regarding the legal principles on special rape and forced molestation." The claim that the KakaoTalk chat contents supporting the criminal charges were illegally collected was also rejected, consistent with the lower courts. The court pointed out, "The KakaoTalk chat contents are essential materials for discovering the truth," and added, "The necessity of public interest is considerable, and it is natural to bear social responsibility comparable to fame and wealth."