"Panic Disorder, Financial Hardship" Yoo Jae-hwan Denies Allegations of Sexual Assault.. Prosecution Service Seeks One-Year Prison Sentence [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

Yoo Jae-hwan, a composer and broadcaster who was brought to trial on charges of sexual assault, denied the allegations during the appeal trial.

The 3-1 Criminal Division of the Seoul Southern District Court held the first appeal trial session for Yoo Jae-hwan's sexual assault charges on the 11th.

On this day, Yoo Jae-hwan's side argued that the original trial judgment was unjust due to factual misunderstandings, misinterpretation of legal principles, and inappropriate sentencing. They stated, "It is hard to imagine a broadcaster taking the risk of ending his broadcasting career to sexually assault a woman he met for the first time in a public place." They continued, "The testimonies of third-party witness Jeong Mo and the victim are contradictory on key points. Nevertheless, the original trial placed high credibility only on the victim's testimony and rejected Jeong's testimony." They requested the court, "Even if he is found guilty, please consider the defendant's health conditions, such as panic disorder, and his record, which is nearly that of a first-time offender."

The Prosecution Service requested the court to overturn the original trial judgment and sentence Yoo Jae-hwan to one year in prison, as originally sought in the first instance.

In his final statement, Yoo Jae-hwan said, "I am deeply remorseful. This situation has made it difficult for me to find employment, causing financial hardship, and I find it hard to go out because many people might recognize me. If the victim's testimony is consistent evidence, please understand that I have also been making consistent statements."

The appeal trial verdict is scheduled for July 16.

Previously, the Seoul Southern District Court's Criminal Division 12 (single judge) sentenced Yoo Jae-hwan, who was indicted on November 26, 2025, on charges of sexual assault, to a fine of 5 million won and ordered him to complete 40 hours of a sexual violence treatment program. Yoo Jae-hwan subsequently filed an appeal against this ruling through his legal representative.

Yoo Jae-hwan was indicted without detention on charges of sexually assaulting a victim he met after posting an Instagram post in June 2023 with the intent of "creating a song without receiving a composition fee."

Later, in May 2024, Yoo Jae-hwan expressed his feelings via his SNS, stating, "I will not step foot in the entertainment or broadcasting industry until the trial is fully concluded. I sincerely apologize with folded hands to those who were genuinely harmed by me."

At that time, Yoo Jae-hwan had announced his marriage to composer Jung In-kyung in April 2024, but was immediately embroiled in multiple allegations of composition fee fraud, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. He denied the sexual harassment and assault allegations, stating, "It is absolutely not true," and expressed his intention to repay the composition fee fraud allegations.

Additionally, Yoo Jae-hwan was transferred to the Prosecution Service without detention on fraud charges. He was accused of deceiving female victim A, who in March 2022 was told he would compose for free excluding labor costs, and defrauding her of 1.3 million won. On March 6, 2022, A contacted Yoo Jae-hwan via SNS and discussed work-related matters. The next day, A transferred 1.3 million won to Yoo Jae-hwan's account. Subsequently, Yoo Jae-hwan committed the act of recruiting applicants for composition projects and collecting payments in advance even though the work was not yet completed, eventually leading to the public exposure of the "composition fee recycling" allegations. Consequently, A filed a criminal complaint against Yoo Jae-hwan for fraud with the police at the end of May 2024.

Even after that, Yoo Jae-hwan was collectively sued by 23 people on charges of composition fee fraud, but in January, the police decided not to prosecute him due to insufficient evidence (no grounds for suspicion).

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.