'Hwang Ui-jo, accused of illegal filming, heads to the UK as travel ban is lifted'

Police "No Extension of Departure Ban"

Soccer player Hwang Ui-jo (32, Nottingham Forest), who is accused of illegally filming women and committing secondary harm, left for the UK, where his team is based, immediately after the police lifted the travel ban on him on the 29th.

A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official stated at a press conference on the same day, "The travel ban on (Hwang) expired on the 28th and was not extended," adding, "We conducted additional investigations on Hwang on the 25th, and after comprehensively analyzing the testimonies of related parties and the evidence collected so far, we will reach a conclusion soon." It was reported that Hwang departed for the UK through Incheon International Airport that morning.

[Photo by Yonhap News]

Earlier, the police imposed a travel ban on Hwang on the 16th to prevent him from leaving the country after he repeatedly failed to comply with summons requests. It is known that the police took this measure to prevent his departure until the investigation was completed. In response, Hwang’s side filed a request to disqualify the investigator with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Office of Audit, Inspection, and Human Rights on the 17th, claiming "excessive investigation led to unauthorized absence from the team."

Previously, the police summoned Hwang as a suspect for questioning on November 18 of last year. They sent the first summons with a deadline of December 27, but when Hwang’s side stated that attendance was difficult due to team circumstances, a second summons was issued. Hwang reportedly appeared privately before the police on the 12th and 15th of this month and testified to the effect that "the victim woman was aware of the filming but did not express refusal."

In June of last year, Hwang filed a complaint with the police against a netizen who claimed to be Hwang’s ex-girlfriend and shared photos and videos of Hwang and women on Instagram, accusing them of threats and other charges. During the investigation, the police detected signs of illegal filming and changed Hwang’s status to that of a suspect.

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