On August 30th, the Seoul Western District Court’s Criminal Division 4 (Judge Hong Da-sun) sentenced former idol group member A to one year and six months in prison for violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, specifically for using a camera to record and distribute without consent. In addition, A was ordered to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program and was barred from employment at institutions related to children, adolescents and disabled people for three years.
The court ordered A’s immediate detention, citing the risk of flight.
A was accused of secretly filming about 18 instances of sexual encounters and private body parts of his girlfriend, B, using a silent camera app from 2022 to 2023.
A reportedly suggested that B wear a blindfold during their sexual encounters and secretly filmed the scenes. It was also found that A had pre-installed cameras in blind spots using the silent camera feature.
After the illegal recordings were discovered, A explained that he did it out of curiosity, saying, “I naively thought I would watch them alone and quietly.“
The court stated “Illegally filming the victim’s naked body could cause irreparable harm if distributed” while also noting that the footage was not disseminated and that A had no previous record of similar offenses as reasons for the sentencing decision.
It was known that two women who were victims of A’s illegal filming pleaded for a severe punishment.
A debuted as a member of a five-member idol group in 2017 but suspended activities in 2019 due to health reasons.
According to K-netizens, the culprit is Choi Wooyoung (former member of Top Secret), who debuted in 2017 and left the group in 2019. Additionally, member Kyeongha of Top Secret was also sentenced to 18 months in prison with a 3-year suspended sentence for sexually assaulting a minor in 2018.
Source: Daum
