Former K-pop singer sentenced to 18 months in prison for illegal sex tapes

A K-pop singer-turned-rapper, identified only by the surname Choi, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for illegally filming videos of him and his partners engaging in sexual intercourse.

Korean National Police Agency [KOREAN NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY]

A K-pop singer-turned-rapper, identified only by the surname Choi, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for illegally filming videos of him and his partners engaging in sexual intercourse.

“Illegal filming is a serious crime that causes irreversible harm to the victim,” ruled the Seoul Western District Court on Friday. “The defendant was never forgiven by the plaintiff and attempted compensation, to which the defendants refused, asking for punishment.”

Choi was charged for nonconsensually filming his intercourse with a total of three victims with a silent camera app. The rapper placed cameras in unnoticeable angles or blindfolded the victims, filming multiple times from July 2022 to May 2023.

Choi’s case was sent to the prosecution in September last year, and the prosecution indicted the rapper on Dec. 8 the same year. The prosecution then asked for a three-year sentence against Choi in May.

Choi was also sentenced to 40 hours of sexual assault rehabilitation education and barred from working in any institution related to minors, teenagers and disabled people for three years.

This news comes as former boy band NCT member Taeil, real name Moon Tae-il, was reported to the police for sexual assault on June 13 and questioned on Wednesday. He was removed from NCT the same day and his former bandmates' schedules were canceled this week after Taeil's news made headlines.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]