On October 17, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 11-3 (Judges Park Young-joo, Park Jae-woo, and Jung Moon-kyung) sentenced former NCT member Taeil to three years and six months in prison, the same punishment handed down in the first trial.
Two co-defendants in the case received identical sentences.
The court also ordered all three defendants to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program and imposed a five-year employment restriction from institutions related to children, adolescents, and people with disabilities.
Taeil had submitted a letter of reflection on October 13 in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence. However, the court dismissed both the defendants’ and the prosecution’s appeals, ruling to uphold the original judgment.
The judges stated that the defendants had “taken advantage of the victim’s incapacitated state due to alcohol” and committed “sequential acts of sexual assault,” calling the crime “of extremely poor nature.”
Case Details
According to the indictment, on June 13, 2024, at approximately 2:33 a.m., Taeil and two friends met a Chinese woman at a bar in Itaewon, Seoul. They allegedly intoxicated the victim, then transported her by taxi to their residence in Bangbae-dong, where she was sexually assaulted while unconscious.
During his first trial in June, Taeil admitted to the charges and apologized in court, saying, “I am deeply sorry to everyone who felt disappointed in me. If given leniency, I will treat it as the last chance of my life and devote myself to doing anything that can contribute to society.”
Following the indictment, SM Entertainment immediately terminated Taeil’s contract and announced his expulsion from NCT.
The ruling finalizes Taeil’s conviction unless further appealed to the Supreme Court, marking a severe fall from grace for the former idol once part of one of K-pop’s most successful groups.
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