The photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
The photo is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

Prosecutors have again sought a 10-year prison sentence on appeal for a taekwondo instructor in his 30s who installed a hidden camera in the women's changing room of his gym and illegally filmed its occupants more than 6,300 times.

At the appeal hearing before the third criminal division of Suwon High Court, presided over by Judge Jo Hyo-jeong, prosecutors asked the court to impose the same 10-year sentence handed down at trial. They also requested that the defendant, identified only as A, be fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet upon release.

A was indicted and detained on charges of violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth Against Sexual Abuse — specifically the production of sexual exploitation material — after allegedly placing a miniature camera in the women's changing room of his taekwondo gym from March 2023 through November last year and filming female students and instructors as they changed clothes on more than 6,300 occasions. Among the victims were a number of very young students, including a child as young as 5.

The trial court had sentenced A to seven years in prison.

A's defense attorney called for leniency, saying A had admitted to all charges and was remorseful, and that his family was doing everything possible to raise compensation money for the victims. The attorney also argued that A had gained no financial benefit from distributing the footage.

In his final statement, A wept and said he missed his young children, adding: "I know I cannot be forgiven no matter what I say, but I sincerely apologize and will do my utmost to help the victims recover."

The victims' attorney pushed back sharply and urged the court to impose a severe sentence, arguing that A had confessed only because police had secured all the evidence through a planned investigation, leaving him no choice, and that this should not be treated as grounds for a reduced sentence.

The attorney also rejected the defense's claim that the footage had not been distributed. "It is practically impossible to trace all distribution channels, so we cannot conclude that the footage was never shared," the attorney said, adding that the victims found it so difficult to revisit the incident that even writing a single letter of petition was a struggle.

The appeal sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19.


choigo@heraldcorp.com