K-Pop Star Moon Tae-il Faces Appeal After Controversial Rape Sentence

Prosecutors have appealed 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.

Local media reported Wednesday that prosecutors and legal teams representing Taeil’s two co-defendants — also convicted in the same case — filed formal appeals with the court on Tuesday. It remains unclear whether Taeil himself has appealed the verdict.

On July 10, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Taeil and two others to three years and six months in prison. The court also mandated completion of a 40-hour sexual violence treatment program and imposed a five-year ban on working with children and adolescents. All three defendants were immediately taken into custody following the sentencing.

The court determined that the defendants had sexually assaulted the victim while she was incapacitated due to intoxication at one of their residences.

\”The defendants exploited the victim’s intoxicated state, rendering her unable to resist. The nature of this crime is particularly heinous,\” the court stated. \”As a foreign national assaulted in an unfamiliar environment, the victim likely endured severe psychological trauma.\”

However, the court also considered mitigating factors, including the defendants’ clean criminal records, admission of guilt, and a settlement reached with the victim, who withdrew her desire for criminal prosecution.

Prosecutors contested the claim of voluntary surrender.

During the initial trial, prosecutors had pushed for seven-year prison terms for each defendant, along with a decade-long ban from working in child- and youth-related fields. They argued that the court’s sentence was overly lenient and challenged the defense’s assertion that the accused had voluntarily turned themselves in.

\”The defendants submitted written statements claiming voluntary surrender, but this cannot be considered genuine,\” prosecutors argued 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 then did they submit letters labeled as confessions.\”

Prosecutors further contended that the crime was not spontaneous. \”Group chat messages between the defendants show they were aware the victim was a foreigner and attempted to manipulate the taxi’s GPS location to mislead any future investigation,\” they added.

\”This case involves three defendants who targeted a foreign female tourist they had never met before, encountering her at a club in Itaewon,\” prosecutors stated. \”They lured her to an apartment in Seocho District at 2 a.m. under the guise of continuing to drink, where they collectively assaulted her. It’s implausible to claim this wasn’t premeditated.\”

The case stems from June 2024, when a female Chinese tourist reported the incident to Seoul police. Taeil was brought in for questioning in August and subsequently indicted on charges of special quasi-rape — an offense carrying a potential sentence of seven years to life imprisonment.

During the initial hearing on June 18, all three defendants admitted to the charges. Prosecutors also requested that the court mandate sex offender registration, public disclosure of personal information, and restrictions on employment involving minors.