K-pop stars Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon sentenced to prison for rape

A South Korean court has sentenced two K-pop stars, Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon to prison for gang-raping drunk unconscious women.

On Friday, November 29, judge Kang Sung Soo of the Seoul Central District Court delivered the verdict against five individuals including Jung Joon Young, 30, and Choi Jong Hoon, 30.

The court sentenced Jung Joon Young to six years in prison and Choi Jong Hoon to five years in prison, finding them guilty of sexually assaulting an individual who was incapable of resisting.

The pair will also have to undergo 80 hours in a sexual violence rehabilitation program and will face restrictions of employment for five years in any organization related to children and teenagers.

“The defendants are well-known celebrities and friends, but the chat they’ve had showed that they simply considered women as objects of sexual pleasure, and committed crimes that were extremely serious,” Judge Kang Seong-soo said.

“Strict punishment is inevitable as the damage inflicted has not properly been recovered and the victims demand harsh penalties.”

The five of them including Jung Joon Young and Choi Jong Hoon were charged with aggravated rape in Gangwon Province in January 2016 and in Daegu in March 2016. Jung was also charged with filming the assault and distributing the footage via a chatroom with other celebrities.

The prosecution had initially asked for seven years in prison for Jung Joon Young and five years for Choi Jong Hoon, as well as participation in a rehabilitation program for offenders and a ten-year restriction of employment in any organization related to children and teenagers.