Choi Young-jung, former Cheongju City Council member. [Yonhap]
Choi Young-jung, former Cheongju City Council member. [Yonhap]

Choi Young-jung, a former Cheongju city council member facing charges of child sex trafficking, appeared before police Sunday for questioning.

Choi arrived at the Cheongju Cheongwon Police Station at around 2 p.m. Sunday as a suspect on charges including statutory rape, production of child sexual exploitation material and solicitation of sexual services under the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth from Sexual Abuse.

It was the second time Choi had been summoned for police questioning, following an earlier session in May. It was also his first appearance since police conducted a search and seizure of the city council offices and his residence on July 15.

During the roughly four-hour session, police are believed to have pressed Choi on whether he had demanded nude photographs from a middle school girl among the alleged victims. Investigators are also said to have examined the full scope of the alleged offenses, including whether there were additional acts of abuse.

It was not confirmed how Choi responded to the charges during Sunday's questioning. At his first session in May, he denied the allegations, saying he had not known the victim was a minor.

A police official declined to provide details, saying the matter was under active investigation.

Choi is accused of having sexual relations with a middle school student on three separate occasions over the course of a year beginning in October 2024, in vehicles and at motels, and of demanding that she send him nude photographs.

He also faces charges of engaging in sexual conversations with the victim — including offering to pay more if she brought a friend or older sister, showing her videos of himself having sex with another woman, and sending messages that appeared to suggest group sex with a woman of a different nationality.


ehkim@heraldcorp.com