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Three high schoolers get suspended prison time for sexual assault at taekwondo camp

Published: 31 Aug. 2025, 12:58 Updated: 31 Aug. 2025, 21:37

[KOREA JOONGANG DAILY]

Three high school students have been spared immediate prison time for forcing a younger male teammate into a sexual act and threatening to distribute video footage of the assault during a taekwondo training camp.

The Busan District Court sentenced a 16-year-old to three years in prison, suspended for four years, according to legal sources on Sunday. Two others were given two-and-a-half-year sentences, suspended for three years.

All three were also ordered to complete 160 hours of community service and attend 40 hours of sexual violence prevention classes and are banned from working in child-related institutions for three years.

The three students were accused of inserting an object into the anus of a younger teammate during a training camp in July of last year. They also filmed the assault and threatened to distribute the footage, according to the court.

During the investigation and the school violence committee’s inquiry, the defendants attempted to shift blame onto each other and downplay their actions. The accuser, however, suffered severe psychological trauma and has since abandoned his dream of becoming a taekwondo athlete.

“The nature of the offense is extremely poor given the motive, method and sadistic nature of the crime,” the court said. "However, the sentences took into account the defendants’ confessions in court, their lack of prior criminal records as minors and their settlement with the victim."

BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]