Prosecutors demand 7-year term for ex-NCT member Taeil over alleged sexual offense

K-pop boy group NCT Taeil / Korea Times file

Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded a seven-year prison term for disgraced singer Taeil in a court hearing on his sexual misconduct charges.

The 31-year-old former member of the K-pop boy group NCT appealed for leniency during the hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, saying, "I'm sorry to all the people who felt disappointed."

Taeil was indicted without detention in March on charges of sexually assaulting a drunken foreign woman in June last year, together with his friends surnamed Lee and Hong, respectively. He was expelled from NCT in August last year after being questioned by police over the sexual assault allegations.

Also demanding the same prison term for Lee and Hong, prosecutors said the case is very serious and the nature of the crime is extremely bad, as the three defendants sexually assaulted a foreign female tourist.

The sentencing hearing for them is slated for July 10.