Yoo Young-jae sentenced to 2.5 years in appeals trial for sexual assault of ex-wife’s sister
Actor Sunwoo Eun-sook and her ex-husband, announcer Yoo Young-jae / Korea Times file
TV personality Yoo Young-jae, 61, has lost his appeal in a sexual assault case involving the older sister of actress Sunwoo Eun-sook, 66, as the court upheld the original sentence of two years and six months in prison.
The Suwon High Court on Wednesday upheld the original ruling against Yoo, who was convicted of five counts of forcible molestation committed between March and October 2023. The victim was the sister of Yoo’s then-wife, from whom he divorced in April 2023 after marrying in 2022.
In rejecting appeals from both the defendant and the prosecution, the court said the sentence was neither unduly harsh nor lenient.
“The defendant has no prior sexual offense record, has admitted to the crime and appears remorseful,” the court said. “Given the lack of risk of further offenses, there is no basis for increasing the sentence.”
Yoo was first convicted in January and taken into custody immediately. In addition to his prison sentence, the lower court had ordered him to complete 40 hours of sexual violence counseling and imposed a five-year ban on employment in institutions involving children or people with disabilities.
In his final statement during the first trial, Yoo pleaded for leniency, saying, “I lacked awareness about boundaries and how my sense of intimacy could be perceived. I sincerely apologize and ask for forgiveness.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.