Article: "I repent and will live a decent life"… Jung Jun-young X Choi Jong-hun, likely to be imprisoned for 7 years and 5 years respectively [General]
Source: TV Report
Prosecutors are demanding a 7 and 5 year prison sentence for Jung Joon Young and Choi Jong-hun who were indicted for violating the law on Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes.
The prosecution made remarks in its 9th hearing for five people including Jung Joon Young and Choi Jonghun at the Seoul Central District Court from 2:10pm Wednesday.
The prosecution sought a 10yr prison term for Kim, a former sales employee of Club Burning Sun, Ha, a former entertainment agency employee and Kwon, an office worker. The prosecution stated, "We took into account their crimes and the fact that the victims did not give consent. We're seeking 10yr prison sentence as well as enrollment in sexual violence treatment programs and release of personal information to child and youth related institutions and disabled welfare facilities."
Jung Joon Young's lawyer argued that "they couldn't find the original transcript of the conversation and thus unclear whether the conversation released matches the original especially because there are contradictions in the victims statements and as such cannot prove without doubt that the crime happened." Choi Jong-hun's lawyer also appealed to the court "to review the records because Jonghun had never been involved in gang rape and didn't distribute any molka."
"I've never had a chance to say sorry to the victims since I arrived in Korea in March but I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize," Jung Joon Young said in a trembling voice. "I regret my stupidity because I did care for them at some point. I shouldn't' have done that."
Choi Jong-hun said, "I got so popular at such a young age that I had a colorful life. I've been humbled and now I'm ashamed and want to apologize for my immoral behavior. I'm repenting for my dissipated life too late. I'm sorry to the victims who were hurt because of us," he said in tears. Regarding the sentence, however, Jong-hun appealed to the court saying that "the charge of "gang r*pe" was too heavy and unfair."
Choi Jong-hun is accused of alleged intoxication and r*pe en masse (gang r*pe) of several women in Hongcheon and Daegu in January and March 2016. Jung Joon Young is accused of distributing illegally taken footage (molka) of him having sex with women and sharing the footage with several of his celebrity friends in a katalk chatroom in 2015.
The final sentencing is scheduled for Friday on the 29th at 11:00am KST.
