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The first official trial for former NCT member Moon Taeil took place on June 18, 2025, at the Seoul Central District Court. Taeil, along with two male acquaintances, is facing serious charges of aggravated rape. The case has been under investigation for over a year, and during the trial, prosecutors laid out a detailed timeline that they believe shows the crime was not only violent but also planned in advance.
According to the prosecutors, the incident began in the early morning hours of June 13, 2024. Taeil and the two other men, who were reportedly close friends, met the victim—a Chinese woman—at a bar in Itaewon around 2:33 a.m. The victim did not know any of the men before that night. While at the bar, they drank together, and as the woman became heavily intoxicated, the men allegedly coerced her into a taxi. Rather than taking her to a safe place or helping her get home, they took her to one of the men’s residences in the Bangbae area of Seoul.
Between 4:00 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., prosecutors say all three men took turns sexually assaulting the victim while she was unconscious. Because of the victim’s condition and the apparent group coordination, the charges were labeled as aggravated rape, which carries a more severe penalty. What made the case even more serious was the claim that the assault wasn’t just a spontaneous act. Prosecutors presented text messages exchanged between the three men before and after the event, which they say show that the attack was planned. In some of the messages, the men mentioned that the victim was a foreigner. In others, they discussed tampering with the GPS records from the taxi to make it seem like they went somewhere else, which would mislead investigators and hide the real location of the assault.
The police investigation took time because of the need to analyze various pieces of evidence, including CCTV footage. Authorities spent nearly two months tracking the defendants’ movements through security cameras to match or challenge their statements. This footage became a critical part of the case against them. Even though the accusations were serious, none of the three men, including Taeil, were arrested during the investigation period. They remained out of custody while police worked to gather enough evidence.
During the trial, Taeil admitted in court that he was guilty of aggravated rape. His lawyer also confirmed that the victim was a Chinese national. In response, the prosecution asked the court to sentence all three men to seven years in prison. They argued that the nature of the crime, especially the way it was planned and carried out, called for a strong sentence. While Taeil’s confession may speed up the trial, the court has not yet made a final decision. If convicted, he could face the full seven-year sentence that prosecutors have recommended.