A pair of male K-pop idols received prison sentences on Friday for raping women who were too drunk to resist.
Singer-songwriter Jung Joon-young, 30, was sentenced to six years behind bars, while former F.T. Island member Choi Jong-hoon, 29, was sentenced to five years, the Korea Times reported.
The cases against Jung and Choi emerged during the infamous “Burning Sun scandal” earlier this year, which accused the Burning Sun club in Seoul of being a site for prostitution, rape, customer violence, police corruption, drug trafficking and drug use.
Former BIGBANG member Seungri, a co-owner of the club who also served as its “face,” was accused of procuring prostitutes for wealthy clients in a separate investigation.
In March 2016, both Jung and Choi participated in the gang rape of a heavily drunk woman in Daegu which was filmed by others who subsequently forced themselves into the victim.
Jung was also convicted for filming his sexual activities and distributing them without consent on 11 different occasions, including a KakaoTalk chat room that reportedly included Seungri.
Some messages exchanged in the said chat room include, according to Allkpop:
“She was a legend.”
“Don’t let this leak. It’s going to end my entire career.”
“I drugged her and went back and forth from a to v, then finished in her mouth.”
Aside from serving prison time, Jung and Choi will also be completing 80 hours of sexual violence education.
“I’m sorry I made victims feel ashamed and bad,” Jung told the court.
In the same ruling, Kwon Hyuk-jun, brother of Girls Generation member Yuri, received four years for raping a woman who was so drunk she had lost bladder control.
A Burning Sun marketing agent also received five years, while another member of the chat room got a suspended sentence for involvement in sexual assault but not rape.
Both Jung and Choi broke in tears as their verdicts were read.
Twitter users following the scandal commented on their sentencing, with many convinced that they deserve worse:
Feature Images via Pinterest (Left) and @seungriseyo (Right)
