Credit: SM Entertainment
Former NCT member Taeil will begin appeal proceedings later this month following his conviction on charges of aggravated sexual assault.
According to legal sources, the Seoul High Court will open the first appellate hearing on September 17th for Taeil and two accomplices charged under Korea’s Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes.
In the initial trial, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Taeil and his co-defendants to three years and six months in prison, ordering them into custody immediately after the ruling. The court also mandated 40 hours of sex offender treatment, required their personal information to be made public, and imposed a five-year ban on working at institutions involving minors or people with disabilities.
The first-instance ruling cited the severity of the crime, noting: “The defendants took advantage of the victim’s incapacitated state due to alcohol, committing the assault at the residence of one of the accused. The crime is of extremely poor character. As a foreign tourist in an unfamiliar country, the victim appears to have suffered significant psychological trauma.”
However, the court also considered mitigating factors: the defendants had no prior criminal record, admitted to the charges, and the victim reached a settlement and did not wish further punishment.
In his final statement at trial, Taeil said, “If granted leniency, I will treat this as the last chance in my life and strive to live contributing to society in any way possible.”
Born in 1994, Taeil debuted with SM Entertainment’s boy group NCT in 2016, performing as part of sub-units NCT U and NCT 127. He was indicted for the June 2024 incident, in which he and two acquaintances were accused of sexually assaulting an intoxicated foreign woman.
Former NCT Member Taeil Appeals 3.5-Year Quasi-Rape Sentence
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