Choi Jeong-won [Will Entertainment/Herald DB]
Choi Jeong-won [Will Entertainment/Herald DB]

Choi Jeong-won (44), a former member of the group UN, received a deferred prosecution on charges of threatening his partner with a weapon after she broke up with him. He was cleared of separate charges of threatening to leak a video and of stalking.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Second Division for Women and Children's Crime Investigation (chief prosecutor Park Ji-na) issued the decisions on July 16, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun.

Choi was accused of calling the woman, identified only as A, four times after she ended their relationship last August, then going to her home armed with a weapon and threatening to kill her and leak a video of her. Choi denied the allegations, calling the incident "a personal dispute with my girlfriend that got blown out of proportion" and saying he "never held a weapon or made any threats" and that "both sides have clearly denied it." Police nonetheless referred the case to prosecutors last November.

Prosecutors issued a deferred prosecution on the aggravated intimidation charge — the allegation that Choi threatened A while armed. A deferred prosecution means the offense is recognized as having occurred, but charges are not filed after weighing factors such as the motive, means and outcome of the act, the relationship between the parties, and circumstances after the incident. Prosecutors took into account that A had initially filed a police report herself but submitted a statement of non-punishment to police a few days later. She also asked prosecutors to show leniency toward Choi during the investigation.

On the charge of threatening to leak a video — a violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes — prosecutors declined to indict, finding insufficient evidence. They determined that Choi appeared to have reacted in a momentary fit of anger after A said during the argument that she would expose his private life to the media. Prosecutors also noted that leaking the video would in fact have damaged Choi, given his status as a celebrity.

The stalking charge — based on Choi's repeated calls and visit to A's home — was also dropped. Prosecutors found that the two had been in regular contact until just before the incident and that A had not indicated she wanted him to stop reaching out.

Before reaching their conclusions, prosecutors twice requested supplementary investigation from police and conducted their own additional probe, including re-examining A's statements.


paq@heraldcorp.com