Former NCT member Taeil, 31, has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison after admitting to the gang rape of a Chinese tourist in Seoul.
He and two other men, identified in South Korean media as Lee and Hong, confessed to taking turns assaulting the woman after a night of drinking in the Itaewon district.
The court heard the victim was rendered unconscious due to heavy intoxication before the men took her in a taxi to Lee’s residence, where the attack occurred.
The judge described the offense as “extremely grave” but issued a sentence that was half of the seven years prosecutors had requested, citing the men’s status as first-time offenders.
In addition to prison time, the three were ordered to undergo 40 hours of sexual violence treatment.
Under South Korean law, the assault qualifies as both “aggravated rape” due to it being a group attack and “quasi-rape” because the victim was incapacitated.
Taeil, whose full name is Moon Tae-il, exited the popular K-pop group NCT in August last year when the allegations first surfaced, though the severity of the charges was not publicly known at the time. Debuting in 2016, NCT is known for its genre-blending music and global reach, including placements on Billboard charts.