At a trial held on the 16th at the 1st Criminal Division (Presiding Judge Oh Chang-seop) of the Uijeongbu District Court, the prosecution requested the court to sentence BJ A, who was indicted on charges of blackmail under the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes by BJs, to 7 years in prison.
Ms. A‘s side stated on that day, “She was addicted to propofol and her ability to make rational judgments had declined, and she seems to have committed the crime to secure money for drugs. She has been reflecting on her wrongdoings every day since being arrested and imprisoned,” and stated, “I did not plan to approach the victim and record her. My father is battling prostate cancer, and I used some of the money on hospital bills.”
In relation to this, when the incident was first made known, Palm Tree Island, Junsu Kim’s agency, emphasized that he was the victim, saying, “Person A‘s drug case is not related to Junsu Kim at all, and after Junsu Kim first filed a complaint on charges of blackmail under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes, it was revealed during a police investigation that Person A had an additional drug conviction. The recorded file was also just a private conversation, and did not contain any inappropriate or misleading content. Mr. A illegally recorded a private conversation between two individuals as a means of intimidation,” he explained.
He continued, “Kim Junsu, who was worried that he would be unfairly criticized because he is a celebrity, has suffered mental anguish due to the long-term intimidation and threats. However, he mustered up the courage to take legal action to prevent further damage and set the record straight,” conveying his strong stance on two occasions.
Mr. A’s sentencing trial will be held on February 6.
Jun Hyo-jin, Donga.com reporter jhj@donga.com
