Ex-Cheongju council member indicted for allegedly sexually exploiting minors
Police also suspect that Choi Young-joong committed similar offenses against another minor, as investigators reportedly recovered chat messages and photos of a possible victim in a school uniform on his phone.
Former Cheongju City Council member Choi Young-joong exits the Cheongju District Court on July 30 after a pretrial detention hearing over alleged sex crimes involving a minor.
NEWS1
Former Cheongju City Council member Choi Young-joong was referred to prosecutors while in detention on Thursday over allegations of sex crimes against minors.
Choi was referred on charges of statutory rape, producing child sexual abuse material; soliciting prostitution; engaging in sexually exploitative conversations with minors; and forcing, arranging or sexually harassing children under the Child Welfare Act, according to the Cheongwon police precinct.
Authorities allege that Choi had at least three sexual interactions with a middle school student — in exchange for money — over the course of a year beginning in October 2024. They also claim that he engaged in sexually explicit conversations with the victim; asked her to take nude photos of herself and send them to him; and offered her additional money if she brought a friend or her older sister when meeting him.
Police also suspect that Choi committed similar offenses against another minor during the same period, as investigators reportedly recovered chat messages and photos of another possible underage victim wearing a school uniform during a forensic examination of his cell phone.
Police added related charges based on the newly discovered evidence.
Choi has denied the allegations and delayed police questioning five or six times in April.
“I didn’t know that [the victim] was a minor,” he said. “This is unfair. I’ll cooperate with the investigation after hiring a lawyer.”
While delaying questioning, Choi reportedly replaced his cell phone, which investigators considered key evidence. He later received his party’s nomination and was elected to the Cheongju City Council in the June 3 local elections. However, he voluntarily stepped down from the position one day after the investigation began.
A court ordered Choi’s detention on July 30, citing concerns that he could destroy evidence or flee. Police referred him to prosecutors before his detention period expired but will continue the probe to determine whether there were additional victims.
Police plan to submit supplemental case files to prosecutors if investigators uncover additional offenses.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
