South Korean football player Hwang Ui-jo has reportedly received a suspended one-year jail term for filming his sexual encounters with a woman without her consent. The 32-year-old, a former Nottingham Forest striker, now plays for the Turkish club Alanyaspor and had pleaded guilty in court in October. (More Football News)
He also plays for the South Korea national team but was suspended in 2023 amid the allegations. The Seoul court said that "given the seriousness of the socially harmful effects of illegal filming, it is necessary to punish [Hwang] strictly", Yonhap News Agency reported.
Prosecutors had sought a four-year jail term for Hwang when they made their closing arguments in the case in October at the Seoul Central District Court. But on Friday (February 14, 2025), the court noted Hwang's acknowledgement of his wrongdoing and his remorse in handing him a suspended sentence, as per the report.
During his first court appearance in December 2024, Hwang had said he was "deeply sorry" for causing "disappointment". In a prepared statement to the judge, he added: "I offer my sincerest apologies to the victims who have suffered because of my wrongdoings. I sincerely plead for the utmost leniency."
The fact that a third party distributed the footage on social media without his involvement was also taken into account, the report added. Hwang had been charged with illegally filming sex without his partners' consent on four occasions between June and September 2022. Two victims were initially named, but Hwang was convicted on charges related to only one, the report stated.
The incident came to light when Hwang's sister-in-law uploaded private, explicit videos of Hwang in a bid to blackmail him in June 2023. She is now serving three years in jail for blackmail.
