[Sportschosun, Reporter Lee Ji-hyun] Musical actor Nam Kyung-ju, who has been indicted on charges of sexually assaulting a student, said he wants a Korean Jury Trial. His side said it wants the court to determine, based on common sense and social norms, whether there was in fact a supervisory relationship and influence over the victim.
On the 26th, the 29th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Presiding Judge Eom Ki-pyo, held the first pretrial hearing for Nam Kyung-ju, who was indicted without detention on charges of statutory rape by a person in a supervisory position.
That day, Nam Kyung-ju's legal representative told the court that he hoped the case would be heard as a Korean Jury Trial.
Nam Kyung-ju's side argued, "Although this is a sexual violence case, it is not a typical case involving threats or the use of force. Rather, the issue is whether the relationship between the defendant and the victim falls under that of a supervisor and a person under supervision."
It added, "The relationship between the two and the defendant's influence are vague and abstract," explaining, "This is exactly the kind of case in which we want to be judged by the public, and to have social norms that align with common sense evaluated by the people."
The case was initially assigned to the 13th Single-Judge Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court, which handles cases before a single judge, but was later reassigned to the 29th Criminal Division, a panel of three judges, through a court-ordered transfer. Such a transfer is a procedure that allows a case originally under single-judge jurisdiction to be heard by a panel, taking into account the nature, seriousness, and issues of the case.
Nam Kyung-ju is accused of using his social status and influence to sexually assault a female student identified as A at an undisclosed location in Seocho District, Seoul, in December last year.
He is said to have denied the charges during the police investigation. After completing its probe, the police sent the case to prosecutors, and the Prosecution Service indicted Nam Kyung-ju without detention in April on charges of statutory rape by a person in a supervisory position.
An attempt to reach a settlement was also made before the indictment, but it did not succeed. Nam Kyung-ju's side reportedly asked prosecutors to refer the case to criminal mediation, but the victim's side rejected the request, causing the settlement talks to fall through.
Nam Kyung-ju has effectively halted his entertainment career since the controversy. He stopped performing after the musical "The Show! Silla-Gyeongju" in October last year, and in March he was also suspended from his post as an associate professor in the Major in Musical Theatre at Hongik University's School of Performing Arts.
olzllovely@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
