Rapper Baetsagong Accused of Illegal Filming Sentenced to 1 Year in Prison on Appeal

Rapper Baetsagong (37, real name Kim Jin-woo), who is accused of illegally filming and distributing images of his lover's body, was sentenced to one year in prison again in the appellate court.

Rapper Baetsagong Accused of Illegal Filming
Photo by Yonhap News

The Seoul Western District Court Criminal Appeals Division 1 (Chief Judge Woo In-seong) on the 10th upheld the original sentence of one year in prison for Kim, who is charged with filming and distributing images using a camera under the Sexual Violence Punishment Act. Previously, the prosecution requested the court to sentence Kim to one year and six months in prison.

The court explained, "Although Kim admitted to the crime, which is a favorable circumstance, considering the victim A's refusal to accept the deposit, there are no other reasons to change the first trial's sentencing," adding, "It appears that the victim suffered extreme pain."

Kim is accused of illegally filming the body of A, his lover at the time, in Yangyang, Gangwon Province, in July 2018, and sharing the footage in a group chat with dozens of acquaintances. In May of last year, A posted on social networking services (SNS) a message stating, "A male rapper illegally filmed a woman he met through direct messages (DM) and shared it with others," bringing the case to public attention.

Kim voluntarily visited the police station for questioning in May last year. After the investigation, the police judged that the charges were valid and sent the case to the prosecution. On April 12, the first trial court sentenced Kim to one year in prison and ordered his detention in court.