From idol to sex offender... Former ”NCT” member Taeil's current situation

On August 28th of last year, Taeil, a member of the popular Korean boy band NCT, left the group. What was behind the sudden departure of this idol who enjoyed widespread popularity?

That day, Taeil's agency, SM Entertainment, announced the news of his departure on social media, saying, "We have confirmed that Taeil has been accused of a criminal sexual offense." SM Entertainment stated, "After reviewing the facts, we recognize that the case is extremely serious," and "We deeply apologize for causing controversy regarding our artist."

The surprising news of Taeil's departure sparked interest. The agency made an unusual public announcement announcing his departure, even though the nature of the allegations against him had not yet been clearly revealed. As the details of the case subsequently came to light, fans were stunned. His alleged crime was a special case of attempted rape through gang sexual assault.

Two other people participated in the sex crimes with Taeil: acquaintances Mr. Lee and Mr. Hong. The three sexually assaulted an intoxicated Chinese woman, Ms. A, at Mr. Lee's home in Banpo-dong, Seoul, at around 4 a.m. on June 13th last year.

According to prosecutors, Taeil and his accomplices happened to meet Ms. A in Itaewon at around 2:33 a.m. on the day of the crime. As soon as Ms. A became intoxicated, they put her in a taxi and took her to Mr. Lee's home, where they committed the crime. The following morning, they put Ms. A in a taxi again and took her to a different location. During this process, Mr. Hong sent Ms. Lee a message saying, "Take the taxi a little further away so it will seem like we're somewhere else."

The prosecutors pointed out, "It appears that they deliberately exploited the fact that the victim was a foreigner to make it difficult for her to remember the location of the crime or to prevent the police from tracking her down."

Ms. A subsequently reported the sexual assault to the police, and after analyzing security camera footage, Seoul's Banpo Police Station identified the perpetrators. Meanwhile, Ms. Lee and Ms. Hong submitted confessions dated August 20th of last year, while Taeil submitted a confession on the 28th of that month. Regarding this, the police stated, "For two months after the incident, the police diligently tracked the defendants, identified them, and conducted searches of their homes." They added, "Although they submitted a document called a confession, it is questionable whether this can be considered a true surrender as stipulated by law."

In the first trial, the court sentenced Taeil and his two acquaintances to three years and six months in prison each and remanded them in custody. The court stated, "The crimes were extremely serious, and the victims, foreigners, likely suffered great mental anguish from the crimes committed while traveling in an unfamiliar place." It added, "We take into consideration the fact that this was a first-time offense for the defendants, and that they agreed with the victim and do not wish for punishment." Regarding their claim of "surrendering themselves," the court ruled, "Objective evidence had been collected at the time of their surrender, the defendants' identities were known, and they surrendered after their homes were searched. The sentence will be handed down with consideration given to leniency," and that "this cannot be considered a reason for a discretionary reduction in sentence."

Meanwhile, Taeil filed an appeal on the 16th of last month, six days after the first-instance verdict was handed down, claiming that the sentence was too heavy. Lee and Hong have also appealed. The prosecution has also appealed, claiming that the sentence is far too light compared to the crime.