Court slashes sentence for man guilty of soliciting sex from minors
Published: 23 Jul. 2025, 16:04
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[JOONGANG ILBO]
A man convicted of repeatedly soliciting sex from minors he met through online chat apps has been released from prison after a Seoul appellate court slashed his sentence, citing remorse, a clean criminal record and settlements with his victims.
The Seoul High Court on Wednesday overturned an earlier ruling that sentenced the man, surnamed Yeo, to two years and six months in prison, instead imposing the same term but suspending it with four years of probation.
“The defendant, an adult, approached victims who were children and adolescents through a mobile phone application and solicited sex from them multiple times,” the court stated. “Given that he continued this behavior over a period of about three years until he was caught through victim reports, and that the victims were under the age of 16, the nature of the crime is serious and open to harsh criticism.”
Under Korea's criminal law, if an adult has sex with a person under the age of 16, it is considered rape, regardless of whether the person consents or not.
However, the court explained that the revised sentence was imposed in light of the fact that Yeo was a first-time offender, had been in custody for more than a year and admitted to the crime and showed “deep remorse.” The court also cited a settlement reached with one victim from the original trial and another during the appeal for a substantial amount of money, while also noting that the victims did not seek for him to be punished.
Yeo was charged in August of last year with multiple counts of sex trafficking with victims under the age of 16 over a three-year period from 2021 to 2023.
BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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