Former NCT member Taeil (Moon Taeil) has admitted to all charges of special quasi-rape in his first court appearance. His initial hearing was originally scheduled for May 12. However, it was ultimately postponed, resulting in the trial’s commencement on June 18 (KST) at the Seoul Central District Court’s 26th Criminal Division.
While Taeil admitted to all charges in his indictment, his legal team has pleaded for leniency. “We submitted a letter of surrender to the police, and after much difficulty, we reached a settlement with the victim, who is Chinese, and received a statement that they do not wish for punishment,” they stated, as per K-media reports.
Moon Taeil, alongside two of his non-celebrity acquaintances, was facing charges of special ‘quasi-rape,’ which, according to South Korean laws, refers to engaging in sexual intercourse with a person while they are unconscious or unable to resist.
Indictment against ex-NCT’s Taeil: Crime timeline revealed
Highlighting facts of the indictment against the K-pop singer and two others, the prosecution noted reiterated that the defendants are friends. Officials determined that the trio of male pals met the “aggravated” rape victim at a bar in Itaewon around 2:33 am KST on in June 2024. They eventually started drinking together. Consequently, the men are said to have dragged the woman into a taxi, taking her to a defendant’s home in Bangbae-dong.
“Then, from around 4:00 AM to 4:30 AM on the same day, they jointly raped the victim who was lying unconscious from being heavily intoxicated,” the prosecution added, while demanding a sever year prison sentence for the crime.
Taeil and his friends manipulated taxi GPS
The accused singer, who was once managed by one of the leading K-pop giants in South Korea, SM Entertainment, is currently being investigated without detention. The court had previously rejected arrest warrant requests for the three men, saying that they had already admitted to the crime and were unlikely to flee or hamper evidence.
While it was previously being suggested that the sex assault was not premeditated, the prosecution’s new revelations about the crime’s timelines indicates that it was not spontaneous.
It has also been confirmed that the victims was a Chinese national. Prosecution’s investigation led them to discovering text messages exchanged between the defendants where they confirmed her identity as a foreigner. Moreover, other messages confirmed that they had plans to manipulate the taxi’s GPS so that a different location than the crime scene would be recorded. Officials further disclosed that it took the police two months to analyse CCTV footage surrounding the defendants’ movements.
Given the gravity of the situation, NCT’s agency, SM Entertainment, addressed the growing scandal surrounding its former artist by kicking him out of the top boy group in August. The company also terminated his exclusive contract in October 2024.
