Entertainment chief gets jail for sexually harassing teen singer hopeful

By Dong Sun-hwa

An entertainment company chief has been sentenced to eight months' jail for sexually harassing a 17-year-old aspiring singer, reports said Sunday.

The chief, surnamed Yoon, was charged with making sexually humiliating remarks when the victim came for an audition last October. He reportedly asked if she had dated a man before and if she was afraid of getting pregnant. The audition venue is unknown.

“The victim, who is in the period of developing her sexual identity and values, has suffered substantial psychological trauma,” Judge Song Yu-rim of the Seoul Northern District Court said in her verdict. “Considering the victim's gender, age and her degree of damage, it is a crime of gravity. But the accused has been making excuses only, instead of reflecting upon what he did.”

The court also ordered Yoon to take a 40-hour program to treat sexual abuse and banned him for three years from being employed at institutions dealing with minors.

Yoon has lodged an appeal.