South Korean singer, Taeil, once a member of the popular K-pop group NCT, has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison for his role in a rape case involving a Chinese tourist.
The 31-year-old artist, whose real name is Moon Tae-il, stood trial alongside two other individuals identified in South Korean media reports as Lee and Hong.
In June, the trio admitted to taking turns sexually assaulting the woman after meeting her in Seoul’s Itaewon district.
According to court testimony, the victim became “heavily intoxicated” during their time at a bar. The group later took a taxi to Lee’s residence, where the attack occurred.
The court characterized the offense as both “aggravated”, due to the involvement of multiple perpetrators and a “quasi rape”, given that the woman was unconscious at the time.
A district judge in Seoul condemned the act as “extremely grave”, yet issued a sentence significantly lower than the seven years requested by prosecutors, citing the defendants’ status as first-time offenders.
Alongside the prison terms, the court mandated that Taeil, Lee, and Hong complete 40 hours of a sexual violence rehabilitation program.
Taeil departed from NCT in August of last year, shortly after initial allegations surfaced.
While the specific details of the case were not disclosed at the time, his departure preceded the formal charges.
NCT, which debuted under SM Entertainment in January 2016, is renowned for its genre-blending approach to K-pop and has achieved global recognition with several of its projects charting on Billboard.
