South Korea's Supreme Court has finalized a 3.5-year prison sentence for Taeil, former NCT member, in a sexual assault case. The 31-year-old singer and two accomplices were convicted of special quasi-rape against an intoxicated woman, with their final appeal dismissed. The incident occurred in Seoul in June 2024.
On December 26, 2025, South Korea's Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling, finalizing a 3.5-year prison sentence for Taeil, a 31-year-old former member of the K-pop boy band NCT, and two accomplices identified as his friends. They were found guilty of special quasi-rape, a charge that applies when two or more individuals assault a victim unable to resist due to unconsciousness or other factors, such as intoxication. The court also mandated that the three complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program and barred them from employment at organizations serving children, adolescents, or the disabled.
The men were indicted without detention in March 2025 on charges of sexually assaulting a foreign tourist in Seoul in June 2024. The victim was reportedly intoxicated at the time. In the initial July 2025 trial, the Seoul Central District Court ordered Taeil's immediate detention, citing the offense's severity. Prosecutors had sought a seven-year term for the singer, but the court imposed 3.5 years.
Taeil debuted in 2016 with NCT, a globally popular group managed by SM Entertainment. His career abruptly ended in August 2024 when police began investigating the allegations. SM Entertainment promptly expelled him, issuing a statement that acknowledged the "severity of the matter."
This ruling underscores legal accountability in K-pop scandals, sending ripples through fans and the industry.
