PHOTOS Actor accused of sexual assaults referred to prosecution
Actor Kang Ji-hwan, handcuffed, is escorted out of the Bundang Police Station after questioning on Thursday. Yonhap
Police referred a popular actor to the prosecution Thursday, requesting his indictment for sexually assaulting two female production staffers.
Kang Ji-hwan, 42, whose birth name is Jo Tae-gyu, was taken into custody on the night of July 9 for molesting a woman and raping another at his home in Gwangju, just south of Seoul. The victims, both employees of a production outsourcing company, were sleeping after a drinking session.
The actor was formally arrested last Friday on charges of a quasi-rape and a quasi-indecent act by compulsion. If convicted, he could be imprisoned for at least three years.
He initially told police he was so drunk that he could not remember what happened. He later admitted to all charges, according to police.
Police have conducted DNA tests to determine whether he used drugs to make the women fall unconscious.
After nearly 10 days of investigation, the Bundang Police Station transferred him to the Seongnam branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on Thursday morning. He did not answer reporters' questions.
After debuting as a musical actor in 2001, he appeared in about 25 movies and TV dramas and won several acting awards. (Yonhap)
Kang Ji-hwan. Yonhap
Kang Ji-hwan. Yonhap