Tae-il (former NCT), indictment without detention on suspicion of sexual assault... pleads guilty

Tae-il, former member of South Korean boy group ‘NCT’, has been filed on suspicion of special quasi-rape.

According to a report in the Korea Daily, former ‘NCT’ member Tae-il (30, real name: Moon Tae-il) was prosecuted at home for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman with an acquaintance.

On the 4th, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Female Child Crime Investigation Department 1 put Tae-il and two accomplices on trial for special quasi-rape under the Sexual Violence Punishment Act on 28th February, according to the legal community. They are suspected of sexually assaulting a woman who was drunk last June.

Earlier, the police were informed of the fact that they had applied the suspicion of special quasi-rape and it was widely said that they had possessed a weapon at the time of the offence, but this was confirmed to be untrue. In June last year, after receiving the victim's report, the Seoul Bambae (Fangbae) Police Station applied for a detention warrant against the three suspects. However, the court rejected the application, citing, among other reasons, that they had admitted to the crime and that there was no need to detain them. Eventually, in August of the same year, two months after the report was received, the police called Theil for questioning and sent him to the prosecution in September.

They claimed that they had not planned the crime. Unlike his accomplices, who appeared before the prosecution for investigation, Tae-il did not respond to the summons investigation citing his health condition. Tae-il's side submitted a medical certificate and a lawyer's opinion, among other documents.

In October last year, SM Entertainment, which Tae-il belonged to at the time, issued an official position statement saying, "We recently confirmed the fact that Tae-il was accused of a criminal case related to sexual crimes," and added, "As we were ascertaining the facts, we recognized that the case is very serious and decided that we cannot continue group activities any longer. After discussing it with Tae-il, we decided to leave the group."