'Forced Indecent Assault' B.A.P Himchan Sentenced to 10 Months in Prison

Kim Himchan (age 33), a former member of the idol group B.A.P, who had been on trial for charges of sexual assault, has had his prison sentence finalized.

B.A.P member Himchan Photo by Yonhap News

According to the legal community on the 30th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Oh Seok-jun) recently dismissed Himchan's appeal and upheld the original sentence of 10 months imprisonment.

Previously, Himchan was prosecuted in April of the following year for forcibly sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s at a pension in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, in the early morning of July 24, 2018.

At the time of the incident, three men including Himchan and acquaintances, and three women were drinking together at the pension, and police officers were dispatched to the scene following the victim's report.

The first trial court stated, "The victim's testimony is sufficiently credible," and sentenced Himchan to 10 months in prison, ordering him to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program.

Himchan, who initially denied the charges, confessed to the crime only during the appeal trial, but the appellate court also sentenced him to 10 months imprisonment, the same as the first trial. Furthermore, citing concerns over evidence tampering and flight risk, Himchan was detained in court.

Meanwhile, Himchan is also on trial for separate charges of sexually assaulting two women at a pub in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, in April last year. It is reported that investigations are ongoing as additional sexual crime allegations have recently surfaced.

B.A.P, which debuted in 2012, saw two members withdraw in August 2018. The following year, the exclusive contracts of the remaining members with their agency ended, effectively leading to the group's disbandment.

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