Former NCT member Taeil, who was sentenced to prison on charges of special quasi-rape, has appealed the appellate court’s ruling.
According to legal sources on Monday, Taeil filed an appeal through his legal representative to the 11-3 Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Chief Judge Park Young-joo) on October 24. It was confirmed that two accomplices also submitted appeals on the same day.
On October 17, the Seoul High Court’s 11-3 Criminal Division dismissed the appeals filed by Taeil and two accomplices, who were indicted for violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (special quasi-rape), and upheld the lower court’s sentence of three years and six months in prison.
The court stated that it had taken into consideration the defendants’ admission of guilt, their status as first-time offenders, and the fact that the victim did not wish to pursue punishment after reaching a settlement. However, the court added that, since the defendants claimed they were unaware of committing the crime and did not voluntarily turn themselves in, there was no reason to change the sentence.
Before the appellate ruling, Taeil submitted seven handwritten apology letters in an attempt to receive a reduced sentence, but the outcome did not change. The prosecution sought seven years in prison, emphasizing the seriousness of the crime and its gravity. The court, however, decided to maintain the original sentence, noting that the victim had suffered significant psychological distress but that the sentence from the lower court remained appropriate.
Taeil was indicted without detention in March 2024 for sexually assaulting an intoxicated foreign woman with two accomplices at a residence in June 2023. After the incident became public, Taeil withdrew from the group, and his agency, SM Entertainment, terminated his contract in October 2023.
The prosecution had demanded seven years in prison, but the first trial court sentenced Taeil and the two accomplices to three years and six months in prison each, along with 40 hours of sexual violence treatment and a five-year employment restriction in child and youth-related institutions. The court explained that it had determined the sentence by considering the defendants’ admission of guilt, their status as first-time offenders, and the settlement reached with the victim.
