'Sexual Assault on Minor Student' 50s Hapkido Instructor Sentenced to Prison in 2nd Trial... Court: No Evidence of 'Romantic Relationship'

Appealing 1st and 2nd Instance Verdicts... "Will Seek Supreme Court Judgment"

A 50-year-old Hapkido instructor, who was sentenced to prison in the first and second trials for sexually assaulting and threatening a high school student he had taught since elementary school, is awaiting the Supreme Court's decision.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

"The defendant claims to have been in a romantic relationship with the victim, but neither the messages nor the recordings show any conversation indicating an affectionate relationship. Even the defense attorney must have been so frustrated that they withdrew the claim of a romantic relationship." (Judge)

A 50-year-old Hapkido master who was tried on charges including sexually assaulting a high school student he had taught since elementary school and who was his student has been sentenced to prison again in the appellate court despite claiming he was in a romantic relationship with the victim.

According to the legal community on the 26th, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 11-3 (Presiding Judges Kim Dae-hyun, Song Hye-jung, Hwang Ui-dong) recently sentenced A (56, male), a Hapkido master indicted for violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles Against Sexual Abuse (rape) and threats, to eight years in prison. He was also ordered to undergo probation for three years and was banned from employment at institutions related to children, adolescents, and the disabled for six years. However, some charges were acquitted, and the sentence was reduced by one year compared to the first trial.

A's claim that the sexual relations were consensual within an affectionate relationship with the victim, who was his lover, was rejected in both the first and second trials. The appellate court stated, "There is a significant age difference of 33 years, and it cannot be seen that affection had blossomed between the defendant and the victim at that time," adding, "The defendant, who had trained in martial arts for a long time, demanding (sexual contact) from his student is behavior that must have felt horrific and frightening to the other party."

Previously, A was prosecuted for repeatedly sexually assaulting or threatening the victim dozens of times from July 2016 to January 2018, starting when the victim was a high school student. The victim, a basic livelihood security recipient who took care of younger siblings without parental help, had attended A's Hapkido dojang since the third grade of elementary school and worked as an instructor at the dojang after becoming a high school student, according to investigations.

In his final statement at the appellate trial, A pleaded for leniency, saying, "I do not hate or resent the victim. It is all my fault," but also stated, "I have no face to show the victim, their family, and my beloved family, but I did not commit such serious wrongdoing as alleged by the prosecution."

The first trial sentenced him to nine years in prison. The first trial court stated, "At the time of the incident, the victim, who was a high school student or a young adult, was in a vulnerable environment due to economic and family circumstances. The teacher and employer abused his superior position and physical power to treat the young victim as an object of sexual desire, and when the victim tried to cut off the relationship, he even threatened to harm the victim's family."

A has appealed, and the case will be reviewed by the Supreme Court.