Choi Young-jung, a former Cheongju city councilman under investigation on charges including having sex with a middle school student and demanding she send nude photographs, was detained Thursday.
Cheongju District Court Judge Tae Ji-young issued a detention warrant after a pretrial hearing, citing concerns over evidence destruction and flight risk. Choi arrived at court in a black suit and white mask and declined to answer reporters' questions about whether he admitted to the charges or whether he had known the victim was a minor.
Choi is accused of having sex with a middle school girl, identified only as A, on three separate occasions — in a vehicle and at motels — and demanding she send nude photographs over a one-year period beginning in October 2024, after meeting her through a chat application. The charges include statutory rape under the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse, production of sexual exploitation material, solicitation of sexual services, and engaging in sexually exploitative conversations with a minor.
He is also accused of offering the victim money to bring her friends and older sister, sending messages that appeared to suggest group sex with women of other nationalities, and showing her videos of himself having sex with other women. Choi is further suspected of destroying evidence — allegedly replacing his mobile phone while under investigation and deleting some data from a private forensic report he voluntarily submitted after police conducted a search and seizure. During police questioning, Choi denied the charges, saying he had sex with the victim but did not know she was a minor.
kty@heraldcorp.com
