What kind of act is this in a sexual assault court?.. Judge's remark "You can do a musical," defense attorney for Nam Gyeongju bursts into laughter, prosecutor lets out a hollow laugh [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

"During the public participation trial argument, it is okay to perform a musical." (Eom Gi-pyo (Director) Judge)

Upon hearing Chief Judge Eom's remark, Nam Gyeongju (62), the defendant and a musical actor, lowered his head and burst into laughter. All of this took place in a courtroom handling a serious crime: a sexual assault case.

On the 26th morning, the Criminal Consolidated Division 29 of Seoul Seocho-gu Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Eom Gi-pyo (Director)) held the first pre-trial hearing for Nam Gyeongju, who is accused of sexual intercourse with a subordinate. The defendant is not required to appear at the pre-trial hearing, so Nam Gyeongju did not attend.

Initially, this case was assigned to Criminal Division 13, which handles cases under a single judge. However, the court reassigned it to a consolidated division through a financial consolidation procedure. Financial consolidation is a process where the court, considering the seriousness of the matter such as when issues are complex, changes a case originally handled by one judge into a case handled jointly by three judges.

A key issue discussed today was whether to proceed with a public participation trial. The legal representative for victim A stated, "The defendant argues as if it is standard procedure that this case should go to a public participation trial, but we (the victims) do not think so. Just as the defendant has the right to request a public participation trial, the will of the crime victim must also be respected. We hope the court will carefully consider whether this case should indeed be referred to a public participation trial. It is only natural for the victim to have concerns; it appears the defendant intends to evade the judge's judgment by going to a jury trial. Furthermore, this was originally a single-judge case, yet it is being moved specifically to a financial consolidation division and then to a public participation trial. We hope the court will carefully consider this matter. We wish for respect toward sexual assault victims."

On the other hand, Nam Gyeongju's legal representative stated, "We will express our desire for a public participation trial." He continued, "First, as the victim's attorney mentioned, we fully respect the reasons why the defendant wishes to exclude a public participation trial. However, while this is indeed a sexual assault case, it is more about the relationship between the defendant and the victim—specifically whether they held positions of supervisor and supervisee—rather than a typical coercion or abuse of authority case. The influence the victim claims the defendant exerted seems too vague and abstract. We have doubts as to what specific influence the defendant could actually exert over the victim regarding their positional relationship, and we plan to focus our arguments on this point. This is not about secondary victimization or questions that induce shame; rather, we intend to focus on objectively determining what relationship existed between the defendant and the victim at the time, and whether a protective supervision relationship existed. We believe such cases should be evaluated based on public common sense and social norms as judged by the people."

The court decided to proceed with a public participation trial as requested by Nam Gyeongju's side. Regarding the reason, it was because Nam Gyeongju applied for it "with his entire life at stake." The court stated, "As a result of deliberation, while it is true that the public participation trial system has structural limitations in fully protecting victims as the victim's side claims, the defendant also applied for this trial with his entire life at stake. Therefore, we have decided to accept the opinion of the defense attorney."

Accordingly, a public participation trial will be held on November 27 and 30. A public participation trial is a system where citizens participate as jurors in criminal trials, providing judgments on guilt or innocence and sentencing opinions. The jury's opinion has no legal binding force but carries only advisory effect.

The court outlined that on the first day, documentary evidence will be examined, the Prosecution Service will present the gist of the charges in a joint statement, and witnesses requested by Nam Gyeongju's side will be summoned for questioning. On the second day, the victim will be questioned as a witness, followed by questioning of the defendant, concluding with deliberation and sentencing procedures.

Chief Judge Eom stated, "In public participation trials before jurors, persuading the jury is important, so I believe both sides should have autonomy in how they persuade. We intend to allow any form of presentation as long as it does not amount to insult, condemnation, or threat toward the other party."

However, at that moment, Chief Judge Eom made a remark: "You can perform a musical using your major; it would be perfectly fine." This comment was taken lightly despite the victim's side clearly expressing concerns about the public participation trial, and it was so out of place with the essence of a sexual crime trial that it left those in the courtroom doubting their ears.

At this moment, Nam Gyeongju's legal representative bowed his head and smiled. In contrast, the victim's attorney immediately grabbed the microphone and firmly drew a line: "We will state our case exactly as it is. A musical is not something to be mentioned," pointing out that Chief Judge Eom's remark was inappropriate.

Furthermore, Chief Judge Eom asked Nam Gyeongju's legal representative, "Has there been any decision regarding broadcasting camera coverage in the upcoming trial process? Sometimes filming does take place." In response, Nam Gyeongju's legal representative answered, "We will follow the presiding judge's decision. (Nam Gyeongju) hopes to proceed even if it means exposing his own reputation or this part of himself."

Chief Judge Eom then turned to the prosecutor and asked, "Is it okay for him to appear on broadcast?" This question once again disturbed the solemn atmosphere that should prevail in a courtroom. The prosecutor responded with a hollow laugh, highlighting how flippant the court had been in a sexual assault case.

Meanwhile, on this day, the legal representative for victim A stated, "(Nam Gyeongju) sent a KakaoTalk message containing an apology to the victim. He said he could not send it via email and instead sent an apology letter with an attachment file through KakaoTalk. He admitted to the criminal facts of this case. We will submit this as evidence," drawing attention.

Previously, last December, Nam Gyeongju was accused of sexually assaulting his student A at a location in Seoul Seocho-gu. It is reported that A called 112 immediately after the incident. At the time, Nam Gyeongju denied the allegations during police investigation, but the police determined the allegations were credible and transferred the case to the Prosecution Service.

Nam Gyeongju is a first-generation musical actor who debuted in 1982. Due to the controversy, he ceased activities after October last year, ending his performance in the musical "The Show! Silla-Gyeongju." Additionally, his position as an associate professor at Hongik University's Department of Performing Arts, majoring in Performing Arts and Musical Theater, was released this March.

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*This content was translated by AI.