This image is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
This image is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

A man in his 30s has been sentenced to prison after assaulting and threatening his girlfriend over suspected infidelity, forcing her to write a pledge and filming her in the nude.

The Jeju District Court's Criminal Division 3, presided over by Judge Kim Hui-jin, sentenced the man, identified only as A, to one year and eight months in prison on charges including violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes for filming using a camera or similar device, according to Yonhap on Thursday. The court also ordered A to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program.

A is accused of repeatedly assaulting his girlfriend, identified as B, in January 2023 after suspecting her of cheating. A allegedly forced B to kneel naked and sign a pledge stating she would forfeit all her assets if she were unfaithful again, then filmed the signing on a mobile phone.

A also allegedly seized B's mobile phone and deleted all her contacts and photos. A is further accused of screenshotting messages B had exchanged with others, posting them to an online community and threatening to delete the posts only if B told her parents she had to quit her job because of her infidelity — which B then did.

During the trial, A denied most of the charges, claiming B had written the pledge of her own accord and that no video had been recorded.

The court rejected those claims, finding the victim's testimony credible. "The victim's statement is consistent on key points and specific enough that it would be difficult to fabricate without having directly experienced it," the court said.

The court noted that the assault was not minor, that A had filmed B in a state that would cause extreme humiliation, and that A had posted private conversations online and used B's resulting distress to make her tell her parents something no one would want to say — effectively isolating her from her workplace and family and exposing her to blame.

"It is clear the victim suffered severe psychological distress, and she has not forgiven the defendant," the court added. "The fact that the relationship continued for a considerable period after the offenses does not reduce the likelihood of punishment."

Meanwhile, both the prosecutor and the defendant have appealed the first-instance ruling.


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