Head of acting troupe arrested on rape charges

Cho Jeung-yoon is led into Changwon District Court in South Gyeongsang Province, Thursday. / Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho, Cho Se-yong

Cho Jeung-yoon, the head of an acting troupe, has been arrested on charges of raping teenagers.

Changwon District Court issued an arrest warrant Thursday night for Cho, 50, who allegedly raped two girls repeatedly between 2007 and 2012. One was 16 and the other was 18 at the time.

Judge Kang Hee-koo approved the prosecution warrant request, citing a risk of fleeing.

Cho, who leads the organization based in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, claimed that he did not force the girls to have sex, saying there was a “mutual attraction.”

He is also suspected of filming himself raping one of the victims.

The victims have also accused two other troupe members of rape.

Because Cho also ran drama classes at the city’s middle schools during that period, police are investigating whether there are more victims.