An unnamed agency CEO has received a sentence for sexually harassing an underage auditionee.

On December 22, it was revealed that the defendant, referred to as 48-year-old Mr. Yoon, was charged by the Seoul Northern District Court for having violated the Child Welfare Act. Mr. Yoon received a sentence of eight months in prison, as well as a 40-hour sex offender rehabilitation course and a restriction from working in any place of employment that serves children, adolescents, and the disabled for three years.

The charges come after Mr. Yoon said inappropriate things to the 17-year-old auditionee, referred to as A, including, “So you’ve been raped by adults while wandering around carelessly,” and, “Have you ever been in a relationship with a man before? What age did you start dating?”

The presiding judge said, “Using an audition as the reason, Mr. Yoon summoned the victim hoping to be a celebrity and sexually harassed her. It is not only a matter of the circumstances of the crime, the law, nor Ms. A’s age that determines this a crime, but also the fact that Ms. A received considerable mental shock during a time in her life when she is forming her own values and sexual identity.”

The judge, “Even now, Mr. Yoon isn’t seriously reflecting on his own actions and continues to make excuses.”

Mr. Yoon filed for a trial of unconstitutional law in a bid to have the charges dropped. He claimed, “It is unconstitutional to determine whether or not you can give a minor under the age of 18 sexual shame based on the criteria of regular victims.”

An unconstitutional law trial is a system that determines the constitutionality of a law and, if it is found to be unconstitutional, would cause said law to become invalid. The current Child Welfare Act prohibits any acts that would be seen to cause a minor discomfort or shame and states that any violations of the act would be punished as sexual harassment.

The court dismissed Mr. Yoon’s request. “We must not judge as though [the decision is] whether or not the child felt sexually harassed, but whether or not the actions [of the perpetrator] were objectively sexual harassment. We will not be hearing Mr. Yoon’s testimony.”

According to police, Mr. Yoon contacted Ms. A earlier this year, sending her a message saying that he is a CEO of an entertainment company and that he had scouted her through her Facebook page.

The police said, “Mr. Yoon continued to ask her sexual questions and spoke of his own sexual experience throughout the conversation. Ms. A provided transcripts which became decisive evidence in the case.

Mr. Yoon filed an appeal of the verdict on December 16.

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