Former Cheongju City Council member Choi Young-joong, who faces charges including child prostitution, was sent to prosecutors in detention. Police identified an additional victim during the investigation and said two underage victims have been confirmed so far.
Cheongju Cheongwon Police Station on the 6th referred the former council member to prosecutors in custody on charges including statutory rape of a minor, production of sexually exploitative material, solicitation of sex buying, conversations for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and coercion, brokering, and sexual harassment of a child under the Child Welfare Act.
From Oct. 2024 for about a year, the former council member allegedly had sex with a middle school victim three times in locations including a car and a motel, and demanded that the victim take and send nude photos.
Police said he proposed giving the victim more money if the victim brought a friend or an older sister, showed videos of having sex with another woman, and sent messages suggesting having sex with a woman of another nationality, continuing sexual conversations.
Police also additionally identified allegations of sex crimes against another minor around the same time. Earlier, nude photos of a school-uniformed female believed to be underage were found on a mobile phone submitted by the former council member, and police expanded the investigation based on this to identify an additional victim.
In a police interview, the former council member was quoted as denying the charges, saying, "It is true that there was sex, but I did not know the other party was a minor."
With the detention period expiring, police first referred the former council member to prosecutors, and plan to continue investigating whether there are additional victims and other offenses. If new criminal facts are confirmed during the investigation, related records will be additionally sent to prosecutors.