First Trial Held, Taeil Admits He Was In The Rape Case

JAKARTA - Wednesday, June 18, the inaugural trial for former member of the NCT group, Taeil was held almost a year after the rape incident took place. He and two of his friends pleaded guilty to the incident and the prosecutor demanded a sentence of 7 years in prison for the perpetrators.

According to the legal side, the Sepul Central Prosecutor's Office said Taeil and two of his friends were sued for sexual crimes after being reportedly harassing a woman in June 2024.

The prosecutor explained the chronology of the incident which began when Taeil and two of his friends met the victim at a bar in Itaewon on June 13 at 02.33 am. They drank together, until they forced the victim to get into a taxi and go to one of the perpetrators' residences.

Then, Taeil and his friends took turns harassing the unconscious victim and were drunk.

It took two months for the police to analyze CCTV to see the movements of the perpetrators. This act of rape was also not intentional because the perpetrators exchanged messages and knew the woman was a foreigner and manipulated the taxi GPS so that the actual location was unknown.

One day after the incident, Taeil was still broadcasting live to communicate with his fans and attend the NCT 127 group event in the middle of an investigation. In August 2024, he was expelled from NCT and SM Entertainment after the agency found out about the case.

During the trial, Taeil revealed that he had agreed with the victim who was a Chinese citizen and received a letter from the victim containing a statement that he did not want any further punishment.

Taeil is being investigated without detention because the court ruled that the three defendants confessed their actions so they did not run away or lose evidence.

Taeil also revealed that since being expelled from the agency, he has worked as a part-time worker at a friend's restaurant.