Suspended Sentence for Director of Famous Korean Medicine Clinic Accused of Sexual Harassment Under the Guise of Chuna Therapy

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A famous Korean medicine clinic director who was prosecuted for sexually assaulting patients under the pretense of Chuna therapy was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the first trial.

Chuna therapy is a traditional Korean medical treatment that corrects the spine and joints.

According to the legal community on the 13th, Judge Lee Jun-min of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 16 recently sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (sexual assault by abuse of authority at work), to one year in prison with a two-year suspension.

He was also ordered to perform 120 hours of community service, attend 40 hours of sexual violence treatment lectures, and was banned from employment at child and youth-related institutions for three years.

The court stated, "The defendant's actions exceeded the permissible scope of Chuna therapy and were committed with the intent to infringe upon the sexual freedom of the patients," adding, "As a Korean medicine doctor, the defendant sexually assaulted two patients under the guise of treatment, which is a very serious offense."

However, the court explained the sentencing by considering "the fact that there is no prior record of similar sexual violence crimes."

Mr. A, the director of a famous Korean medicine clinic located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, was indicted for sexually assaulting patient Mr. B, who visited the clinic in February 2017, by laying him on a bed in the director's office and putting his hand inside the patient's clothes to touch his body.

In May of the same year, he was also prosecuted for touching sensitive parts of another victim, Ms. C, after telling her, "Your hands are too cold, and after touching you, your body condition is worse than expected, so it would be better to take off your outer clothes and have a proper examination," and making her lie down.

Mr. A is known to have appeared on numerous TV programs and given media interviews until recently.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.