Hara's ex-boyfriend Choi Jong Bum received his official sentence from the Seoul Central District Court on August 29, and her legal representatives have responded.
Prosecution previously requested a 3-year prison sentence for Choi Jong Bum on the charges of physical assault, intimidation, blackmail, and more, and at the trial today, he was officially found guilty of most of the crimes and received 1 year and 6 months suspended for 3 years, which means he will be on probation but receive no jail time. Though he was convicted for destruction of property, physical assault, intimidation, and blackmail, he was found innocent of any sexual assault or crimes related to the sex tape he and Hara filmed.
The court stated, "The accused is claiming there was no intention to sexually shame with the photo shoot. When you see the relationship between the victim and the defendant, they were living together starting from July of 2018, and he took photos of Hara in the spa on the first day of a vacation together." On the sex tape allegedly used to blackmail Hara, the court commented, "The sex tape was filmed by Hara, and Choi Jong Bum did not make financial or sexual requests with the footage. He's also never spread or reported the footage."
Hara's legal reps responded they plan to appeal the sentence, stating, "It is not a just assessment of the case to acknowledge guilt and give a suspended sentence. If we want to eradicate criminal activities like the ones committed by Choi Jong Bum in our society, we need stronger punishment. We hope Choi Jong Bum will receive a deserving punishment in a review by an appellate court on an appeal."
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