'Staff Sexual Assault' Kang Ji-hwan, Suspended Prison Sentence Confirmed

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] Actor Kang Ji-hwan (real name Jo Tae-gyu), who was indicted on charges of sexually assaulting and harassing two female outsourced staff members, has had his suspended prison sentence finalized.

The Supreme Court's 1st Division (Presiding Justice Park Jeong-hwa) on the 5th upheld the original sentence of 2 years and 6 months imprisonment with a 3-year suspension for Kang, who was tried on charges including quasi-rape. The court stated, "There is no error in the recognition of facts or misinterpretation of the law in the original judgment."

Kang was indicted for allegedly sexually assaulting one outsourced female staff member and sexually harassing another after drinking with the two women who were assisting his filming at his home in Opo-eup, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do on July 9 last year. The first trial in December last year found all charges to be true and sentenced Kang to 2 years and 6 months imprisonment with a 3-year suspension. The second trial also delivered the same verdict on the 11th.

After the second trial verdict, Kang's side appealed, requesting a review of the original judgment that found him guilty of quasi-sexual harassment. They argued that the victim of the quasi-sexual harassment was not in a state of incapacity to resist at the time of the incident, and that Kang's DNA was not detected on the victim. However, the Supreme Court dismissed Kang's appeal, considering the detection of Kang's DNA on the victim's sanitary pad and the consistency of the victim's statements from the investigation onward.

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