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K-pop star Taeil sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for shocking act!
Taeil, ex-NCT singer, was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for raping a Chinese woman in Seoul, amid protests.
K-pop star Taeil sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for shocking act!
A dark chapter in the K-pop world: Former NCT singer Taeil was sentenced to three years and six months in prison. The Seoul District Court handed down the verdict on July 10 this year based on his involvement in the rape of a Chinese tourist. Taeil and two of his accomplices, Lee and Hong, reportedly admitted to attacking the woman one after the other in a state of advanced drunkenness. The judge described the crimes as "extremely serious" and pointed out that the sentence imposed was only half of the seven years demanded by prosecutors because the perpetrators were first-time offenders, as Yahoo reported.
The incidents occurred in June 2024 at a bar in Itaewon district, where the three men took the woman to Lee's apartment after consuming alcohol. Such offenses are classified as “aggravated” in South Korea because they involve collective attacks. The verdict sparked protests among the South Korean population. Many citizens express concerns that celebrities enjoy a kind of impunity in such cases. The court also ordered the perpetrators to attend a 40-hour sex offender treatment program while not working with children or young people for five years. The disclosure of the convicts' personal data has also been enacted, as reported by Vanity Fair adds.
Bumpy Truths of the K-Pop Industry
The punishments against Taeil and his accomplices are not the first in the Korean music scene to shed light on such incidents. In recent years, there have been repeated headlines about K-pop stars being called out for sexual misconduct. For example, Jung Joon Young and Choi Jong Hoon were convicted of both rape and other crimes. The judge spoke of a “special quasi-rape” case in which the victims were also significantly drunk. These incidents have significantly increased the pressure on the South Korean pop scene, as RND reports.
There is a lot of pressure on social media for female celebrities, who often face negative comments, while male stars engage in such behavior. The fact that court verdicts usually result in comparatively lenient sentences reinforces the impression of an inadequate response from the legal system and leaves the K-pop industry's reputation shaky.
The verdict against Taeil and his accomplices opens another chapter in a recurring theme in the K-pop world that raises deeper social and cultural questions about power, responsibility and justice.