Both former NCT member Taeil (30, legal name Moon Taeil) and prosecutors have filed appeals following the court's initial ruling in a high-profile sexual assault case.
On July 16, Taeil submitted his appeal to the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 26, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Hyun Kyung. The two co-defendants who were involved in the crime also appealed the previous day.
Prosecutors likewise contested the ruling, stating the sentence was too lenient. They had initially sought a seven-year prison term, emphasizing the severity and gravity of the offense. “The nature of the crime is extremely serious and morally reprehensible,” prosecutors argued.
On July 10, Taeil was taken into custody immediately after the court sentenced him and the two co-defendants to three years and six months in prison each. The trio was convicted of aggravated quasi-rape under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes.
“The defendants took advantage of the victim’s incapacitated state to commit the crime. The nature of the offense is particularly egregious,” the court noted in its ruling. “The victim is believed to have suffered significant psychological trauma as a result.”
Taeil and his co-defendants admitted to all charges during the proceedings. In his plea for leniency, Taeil stated, “I want to contribute positively to society and will do my best to live a better life.”
The case stems from an incident in June of last year, in which Taeil and the co-defendants were accused of gang-raping a foreign woman who was unconscious at the time. DNA from all three perpetrators was found on the victim’s body.
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