K-pop star Taeil, who came to fame in the band NCT, has been jailed for three and a half years after gang raping a tourist in Seoul.
Taeil, 31, admitted in June that he and two other accomplices, named in South Korean reports as Lee and Hong, took turns raping a Chinese tourist after she became ‘heavily intoxicated’ after drinking with them.
The three men met the victim last year in the Itaewon district in Seoul, and after drinking together, they then got her into a taxi to Lee’s house, where the assault took place.
A district judge handed the three men three and a half-year sentences each, asking them also to complete 40 hours of a treatment programme for perpetrators of sexual violence.
The men have also been banned from child and youth-related institutions for five years and will be registered as sexual offenders in their neighbourhoods of residence.
The verdict is just half of the seven-year sentence that was requested by the prosecutors, with the judge noting that they were first-time offenders.
The law in South Korea described the attack as ‘aggravated’ because it the tourist was raped by a group.
It was also described as a ‘quasi rape’ as the victim was unconscious.
The Korea Herald reported the comments made in court by the judge.
‘The defendants took turns committing sexual acts against the victim, who was severely intoxicated and unable to resist. The nature of the crime is particularly grave,” the judge commented.
‘As a foreign tourist assaulted in an unfamiliar environment, the victim likely experienced significant psychological distress.’
Taeil was a member of the South Korean boy band NCT from 2016 until 2024, when he was initially tied to the sexual offence.
SM Entertainment, the singer’s former agency, announced his departure from the band in October 2024, stating at the time: ‘Given the gravity of the matter, we determined that he could no longer continue group activities.’
The singer and his two accomplices pleaded guilty to aggravated rape into June 2025 and received the sentence on July 10.
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