Prosecution Demands One-Year Prison Sentence After Appeal Against Suspended Sentence in First Trial
Defense Argues, "Too Harsh for Defendant to Lose All Future Opportunities"
The prosecution has requested a one-year prison sentence in the appeals trial for a prestigious private university medical student in Seoul who was indicted for secretly filming nude images of women he had dated.
On May 27, the Seoul Northern District Court Criminal Division 1-3 (Presiding Judges Yoon Woonggi, Kim Taegyun, and Won Jeongsuk) held the final hearing of the appeal for Mr. A (25), who was charged with violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (filming and distributing images using cameras, etc.).
Mr. A is accused of illegally filming and possessing images of the bodies of two women, including a woman he was dating, on a total of 16 occasions from September 2022 to April 2023. It was reported that more than 100 photographs of the women’s bodies were stored on Mr. A’s mobile phone. His crimes came to light when his then-girlfriend discovered nude photos of another woman on his phone and reported him to the police.
On this day, the prosecution asked the court to sentence Mr. A to one year in prison, to order disclosure and notification of his personal information, and to restrict his employment at institutions related to children and adolescents for one year, citing the risk of recidivism, among other factors.
In response, Mr. A’s attorney pleaded for leniency, stating, “The defendant has lived his whole life as a model student, and the fact that he is standing trial for such a crime is shocking both to me as his lawyer and to his parents. He was immature and inexperienced, having only recently become an adult after finishing his entrance exams, and it would be too harsh for someone so young to lose all future opportunities because of a single mistake. We ask for the court’s consideration of these circumstances.”
Mr. A, who stood in court that day, also stated, “I have come to realize, albeit belatedly, how much pain my wrongdoing has caused the victim, and I reflect on it every day. I am more ashamed that my crime has caused such great harm to the victim than I am afraid of not achieving my goals.”
Previously, the court of first instance sentenced Mr. A to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered him to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program, as well as restricting his employment at institutions related to children, adolescents, and persons with disabilities for three years each. Both the prosecution and Mr. A appealed the sentence, citing its unfairness. At the time, Mr. A’s plea for leniency stirred controversy when he stated, “Although I am ashamed, if I am allowed to continue as a medical professional, I will atone for my wrongdoing by choosing to specialize in emergency medicine, a field facing a shortage of medical staff, rather than my original career goal.”
The sentencing hearing for Mr. A is scheduled for June 24.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
