Head of popular hansik franchise charged with groping male business associate

The head of a well-known hansik franchise has been accused of groping a male business associate, it has emerged.

According to JTBC's "Sageon Banjang," the franchise chief, identified only as A, was referred to prosecutors without detention last October on charges including sexual assault by compulsion.

A is accused of groping B, an employee of a liquor distributor, during a drinking gathering last March.

At the time, A allegedly told B, "Shouldn't you give something to meet someone as successful as me?" and "I want five minutes of your free time," adding that he was curious about B's private parts because B had a handsome face.

A reportedly lured B to a building he owned before carrying out the assault. A recording B shared through the program captured A saying, "I won't ask you to do anything else — just let me touch you."

B responded, "I'm a reserve captain in the Air Force. I can't do that," but A pressed on, saying, "Don't kill the mood" and "I've wanted to touch you for 15 minutes."

A allegedly twisted B's arm behind his back and groped him, saying, "I like touching people with a pure and clean soul" and "You're handsome and your soul is innocent — I wanted to touch you."

B said he fled the premises. He subsequently sought psychiatric treatment for the psychological trauma. He also said he felt a deep sense of helplessness at having been unable to firmly stop A.

After the incident, A sent B a series of bewildering text messages, including: "I was glad to meet an energetic and smart person. Stop avoiding me and let's keep a productive relationship. I sincerely wanted to be a mentor to you in life," and "All kinds of strange things happen in life, but looking back, none of it is a big deal."

B filed a complaint against A on charges of sexual assault by compulsion and submitted the audio recording to police as evidence. A claimed to police that the recording had been manipulated using AI, but an investigation confirmed it was the original, unaltered file.

A's legal team denied the charges in a written brief, acknowledging that "inappropriate sexual jokes were exchanged during the drinking gathering" but insisting no assault took place. The team also questioned the circumstances under which B began recording, and said B "approached from the outset with the intent to gain financial benefit." It further argued that A "has no reason to have assaulted the complainant, as he is a heterosexual man who has been in a long marriage."

“기름값? 그게 뭔데”…‘AI 질주’에 뉴욕증시 3대 지수 또 최고치 [투자360]

https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10761895