Composer and broadcaster Yoo Jae-hwan has been ordered to pay a 5 million won fine for forced indecent assault, after South Korea’s Supreme Court rejected his final appeal on October 7 and confirmed the lower court’s ruling.
According to a report by Sports Today, the Supreme Court’s third division, presided over by Chief Justice Lee Sook-yeon, dismissed Yoo’s appeal, closing the case.
Yoo was charged after posting on social media in June 2023 that he would compose songs free of charge, then forcibly molesting a victim who contacted him in response. Prosecutors sought a one-year prison term in both trials.
The first trial in November last year imposed the 5 million won fine and a 40-hour sexual violence treatment program. Both sides appealed, but the second trial upheld the ruling, finding the victim’s account matched objective evidence — text messages, calls, and conversations with a witness right after the incident — and that “the credibility of the victim’s statement can be fully recognized.”
Separately, Yoo is also under fraud investigation. He was reported in August 2024 for allegedly taking about 55 million won in advance payments from 23 people who commissioned songs and never delivering them. Police initially cleared him last January, but the victims’ objections were accepted and a supplementary investigation was ordered. Yoo has reportedly said he intends to repay them.
With the Supreme Court’s decision, the forced indecency case is now finalized. No further statement from Yoo was available at the time of the report.
