Former FT Island member Choi Jong Hoon expressed relief over an additional one year and six months to his prison sentence and said he welcomed the punishment for his immature actions. The former idol received the additional penalty for his participation in the distribution of illegally filmed footage of women without their knowledge, also known as molka in Korea.
It can be recalled that Choi Jong Hoon, along with Jung Joon Young and several others were earlier charged and convicted for sexual assault of drunk and unconscious women. Jong Hoon received a five-year prison term for his involvement in the crime, Koreaboo reported.
"Four years have passed since the incident and I had lived with the guilt that I couldn't wash away. I bow my head in deep regret over my immature actions that I didn't realize were crimes at the time. I'm relieved that I'm getting punished for it now," Choi Jong Hoon said in his brief statement to the media.
He also tearfully promised that once he returns to society after completing his six and a half year prison sentence, he will no longer seek the limelight as a celebrity and will become a normal civilian who helps society.
Apart from jail time, Choi Jong Hoon is also required by the court to notify his crimes to the public, and complete a sexual violence treatment program. He is also barred from employment in institutions related to children and adolescents for the next five years.
In a report by BBC, it can be recalled that during the sentencing of Choi Jong Hoon and his group for raping drunk and unconscious women and distributing the footage of the assault, the court made mention that the former FT Island guitarist "did not feel remorse after mass-raping drunken victims".
The public case of molka or illegal sexcam became the subject of the scandal last year after it was revealed that celebrity Jung Joon Young led a group chat where he shared videos of his sexual conquests with his friends. In many of the videos, the women appeared to be unaware that they were being filmed.
"This is rather too much for this type of crime. These women were not kidnapped on the street, but followed the handsome singers," lawyer Cha Mee Kyung said after the original sentencing.
In March of last year, Choi Jong Hoon announced his retirement from the entertainment industry after massive backlash resulting from the molka and gang-rape allegations, SBS Pop Asia reported.
