Authorities seek stronger punishment, challenge first trial’s leniency amid controversy over defendants’ claims of voluntary surrender
Prosecutors have filed an appeal against the three-and-a-half-year prison sentence handed down to Moon Tae-il, a former member of the K-pop group NCT, who was convicted of special quasi-rape earlier this month.
According to local media reports on Wednesday, prosecutors and the legal teams of Taeil’s two co-defendants — also convicted in the same case — submitted formal appeals to the court the previous day. Whether Taeil himself has filed an appeal remains unconfirmed.
On July 10, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Taeil and two others to three years and six months in prison, along with mandatory completion of 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program and a five-year employment ban in institutions related to children and adolescents. All three were taken into custody immediately following the sentencing.
The court found that the three defendants had taken advantage of the victim’s incapacitated state due to intoxication and sexually assaulted her at one of their residences.
“The defendants exploited the victim, who was too intoxicated to resist, and the nature of the crime is particularly egregious,” the court ruled. “As a foreign national assaulted in an unfamiliar setting, the victim likely suffered severe psychological distress.”
However, the court also considered mitigating factors, including the defendants’ lack of prior criminal records, admission of guilt and a settlement reached with the victim, who no longer wished to pursue criminal punishment.
Prosecutors pushed back on the “voluntary surrender” claim.
During the initial trial, prosecutors had sought seven-year prison sentences for each of the three defendants, along with a 10-year employment ban in child- and youth-related fields. They argued that the court’s sentence was too lenient and challenged the defense’s claim that the accused had voluntarily turned themselves in.
“The defendants submitted written statements claiming voluntary surrender, but this cannot be considered genuine,” prosecutors said during the first trial. “They were identified after a two-month police investigation, which included surveillance camera tracking and a search and seizure operation. Only after that did they submit letters labeled as confessions.”
Prosecutors further argued that the crime could not be classified as spontaneous. “Messages in the group chat between the defendants show they were aware the victim was a foreign national and attempted to manipulate the taxi’s GPS location to mislead any future investigation,” they added.
“This case involves three defendants targeting a foreign female tourist they had never met before, who they encountered at a club in Itaewon,” prosecutors said. “They took her to an apartment in Seocho District at 2 a.m. under the pretense of drinking more, where they collectively assaulted her. It defies common sense to claim this was not premeditated.”
The case dates back to June 2024, when a female Chinese victim reported the incident to Seoul police. Taeil was summoned for questioning in August, and was later indicted on charges of special quasi-rape — a charge punishable by a minimum of seven years to life imprisonment if convicted.
During the first hearing held on June 18, all three defendants admitted to the charges. Prosecutors also requested that the court impose mandatory sex offender registration, public disclosure of personal information and restrictions on employment in fields involving minors.
