Choi Jong Hoon appealed against his conviction for alleged bribery and the dissemination of video he had taken illegally.
Police recently charged Choi Jong Hoon for proposing the officer on the field 2 million won (around $1,780) at the time to cover up his drunk-driving accident in 2016. The singer was also convicted for distributing the illegaly-taken footage, which he confessed to during his first trial. He, however, denied providing bribes.
Taking into consideration that he acknowledged and acted on most of the offenses, has yet to obtain a final verdict on a related crime, and conveyed that his offer of bribes was reckless, he was sentenced to one year in prison deferred for two years of probation. His imprisonment came with 80 hours in a recovery program for sexual assault.
Choi Jong Hoon submitted a petition for the first round of proceedings on April 2. The defense also filed an appeal on March 31, leading to his case going through the second round of trials.
The singer submitted an appeal to the Seoul Central District Court that day through a legal adviser, according to the court on December 4.
On November 29, 2016, five suspects were convicted of aggravated sexual assault in Gangwon Province, including Choi Jong Hoon and Jung Joon Young, and Daegu in March 2016. They also faced criminal charges of recording and disseminating videos taken unlawfully during that time.
Choi Jong Hoon was initially sentenced to five years in jail, along with 80 hours in a rehabilitation clinic for sexual assault and face job limits for five years in every agency associated with children and teenagers.
Burning Sun MD (merchandiser, or promoter) "Kim" also obtained a five-year jail term and appealed the day before.
DEPARTURE
In March of 2019, Choi Jong Hoon was a member of the online chatting group along with celebrities Lee Jong Hyun and Jung Joon-young who shared lewd photographs of women taken with no authorization or acknowledgment.
He was also alleged to have bribed the police to block newspapers from reporting his drunk-driving incident case in 2016. His agency eventually stated his departure from F.T. Island as well as from the entertainment industry.
Then, in April of 2019, authorities detained the singer, but he only admitted to sharing hidden pictures of the camera captured on illicit camera videos without permission.
He was convicted with one count of spreading illicit footage taken privately and five counts of distributing footage from other outlets.
ARREST
A woman came forward to SBS funE on April 19, 2019, complaining that five men, including Choi Jong Hoon, raped her after becoming drunk in March of 2016, and then uploaded the video in a group chat. The singer denied the accusation but confirmed that on that day, he and the woman were together. He was then arrested on suspicion of gang rape on May 10, 2019.
