Footballer Hwang Ui-jo indicted but not detained for illegal sex tapes

Social Affairs

Published: 11 Jul. 2024, 16:13

Footballer Hwang Ui-jo indicted but not detained for illegal sex tapes

Footballer Hwang Ui-jo is seen at Incheon International Airport on Nov. 19, 2023. [NEWS1]

Prosecutors indicted without detention football star Hwang Ui-jo for allegedly filming his sexual partners without their consent on Thursday.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said that it had indicted Hwang without detention on charges of violating Korea's sex crime laws.

Hwang is accused of filming private videos and recording video calls with two women on several occasions without their consent, according to the prosecution.

“To prevent secondary damage to the victims, we will not disclose specific criminal charges,” an official from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said. “We will do our best to investigate the case while responding strictly to digital sex crimes and protect and support the victims.”

The footballer has been under investigation since last year after an Instagram post shared by an unidentified individual who claimed to be Hwang’s ex-lover. The post was a video in which a naked man was with a woman, claiming the man to be Hwang.

The person accused Hwang of filming sexual encounters without consent and having sexual relationships with multiple women at the same time.

Hwang has been under police investigation ever since. He denies filming his encounters without his partners' knowledge.

The Korean national team suspended the player on Nov. 28 last year following the start of the ongoing investigation.

Police also imposed a travel ban against the player, which ended on Jan. 28.

He was loaned to Turkish team Alanyaspor on Feb. 7 from Premier League side Nottingham Forest. The loan ended at the end of the season.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]