South Korean international footballer Hwang Ui-jo, 32, has been given a suspended jail sentence after being found guilty of filming sexual encounters with a woman without her consent, according to the Yonhap news agency.
The former Premier League forward, who had previously pleaded guilty to the charges, received a one-year jail sentence suspended for two years on Friday.
The court stated that Hwang “filmed sexual intercourse scenes against the will of the victim using his mobile phone on four occasions.” After the hearing, Hwang told reporters that he was “sorry” and offered a personal apology to football fans.
The case emerged in June 2023 when Hwang’s sister-in-law posted private explicit videos of the footballer online in an attempt to blackmail him. She is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for blackmail.
Prosecutors had initially requested a four-year prison term for Hwang during their closing arguments in October. However, the court cited Hwang’s acknowledgement of his wrongdoing, his remorse, and the fact that a third party distributed the footage without his involvement as factors in issuing the suspended sentence, Yonhap reported.
Hwang was charged with illegally filming sex without his partners’ consent on four occasions between June and September 2022. While two victims were initially named, the conviction relates to charges involving only one victim, according to Yonhap.
Hwang, who has played in over 60 matches for South Korea and currently plays for Turkish side Alanyaspor, had initially claimed innocence before admitting to the offences in court. He participated in all four of South Korea’s games at the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Local reports suggest the conviction may jeopardize his future participation in the national team.
Regulations within the Korea Football Association (KFA) state that a member can be expelled for committing sexual offences. It is unclear at this time if the KFA will take further action against Hwang.
South Korea has been grappling with a widespread issue of “molka,” or spycams, referring to illicitly filmed videos that range from images of women in public restrooms to leaked sex videos from K-pop stars. The phenomenon has led to significant societal concern and legal reforms aimed at addressing the problem.
The country has seen several high-profile cases in recent years. In 2019, Goo Hara, a former member of the K-pop group Kara, died by suicide after being blackmailed with “revenge porn” by a former boyfriend. Former K-pop singer Jung Joon-young completed a five-year prison term last year for gang rape and illicit filming in a separate, high-profile spycam scandal.
