B.A.P. Him-chan admitted to all charges at the second trial, submitted a letter of apology

Him-chan (30, real name Kim Him-chan), a former member of boy group B.A.P, was suspected of sexual harassment. He recently admitted to the charges of forced sexual harassment that he had denied.

The Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Affairs Department 1-2 (chief judge Maeng Hyun-moo, Kim Hyung-jak and Jang Chan) held a trial of Him-chan, who was indicted on charges of forced harassment, on the afternoon of April 12th. This is the court’s first trial after the court’s personnel reshuffle in February. The court proceeded with a renewal in the trial proceedings and asked Him-chan directly for his position.

When the court asked, “I want to know the defendant’s position now,” Him-chan replied, “I admitted to all charges.” Before this, he has been denying the charges of forced harassment in court. In response, when the court asked again, “Are you withdrawing your previous claim of innocence and acknowledging it all?” he replied, “Yes.” The lawyer also submitted a written apology written by Him-chan to the court.

The court said, “First of all, he has acknowledged the charges, confessed, and reflected on them,” and ordered, “Next, show us how you will do to help your victim recover.”

“In particular, he was sentenced to prison in the first trial, and if the appeal is dismissed, he will be bound to be arrested in court. Significant changes are needed. Only when the deposit is made will we have room to think about it,” the court demanded him to contact the victim to actively engage in the deposit process.

Deposit is money that is entrusted to the court once desired compensation or settlement money occurs between the parties in civil and criminal cases. The lawyer stated that it took about two months to go through the deposit process. The court accepted it and decided to proceed with the next date on June 14th.

Himchan was accused of sexually harassing A, a woman in her 20s who accompanied him at a pension in Joan-myeon, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do on July 24th, 2018. In February last year, the first trial sentenced Himchan to 10 months in prison and ordered him to complete a 40-hour sexual assault treatment program. However, the court did not put him under court custody, saying, “We will give him an opportunity to make an effort to be forgiven.”

In the meantime, during the first trial, Himchan denied the allegations, “We both had good feelings towards each other, and it was consensual.” However, the court did not accept his reason. Himchan’s side appealed against the ruling of the first trial.

Meanwhile, Himchan gained popularity as he debuted under boy group B.A.P in 2012. He left his former agency TS Entertainment after his contract expired in February 2019, and the group disbanded. He evoked much criticism after being caught drunk driving in October 2020.