A man who appeared on the dating reality program "I Am Solo" was again given a suspended prison sentence on appeal on a rape charge.
The Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 14-1 (High Court Judges Lee Hyeong-geun, Lee Hyeon-woo, and Jeong Gyeong-geun) sentenced a person surnamed Park (36), who was brought to trial on a quasi-rape charge, to 1 year and 6 months in prison, suspended for 3 years, the same as the first trial. The court also ordered 40 hours of sexual violence treatment lectures and restricted employment for 5 years at institutions related to children, teenagers, and people with disabilities.
Earlier, the first-instance court found Park guilty in September last year but, considering that Park showed remorse and reached a settlement with the victim, who did not want punishment, handed down a suspended sentence.
Prosecutors appealed, arguing the initial sentence was too light, but the appellate court did not accept it, saying, "It is hard to see that the original sentencing fell outside the reasonable scope of discretion."
Park was arrested and indicted in July last year on charges of raping a woman in her 20s who was incapacitated by alcohol in a parking lot in Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, in the early morning of June last year.
At the time, it became known that Park had appeared not only on "I Am Solo" but also on "Nasol Four Seasons," sparking a backlash. As the controversy grew, episodes featuring the person surnamed Park were made unavailable on OTT platforms including Wavve, Tving, and Netflix.