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Miss Night and Day’s Jung Eunji’s 50-year old stalker loses trial appeal with guilty verdict upheld
The 50-year-old stalker of actress and Apink member Jung Eunji has lost appeal, with the guilty verdict upheld.
Apink’s Jung Eunji's stalker has been found guilty once again by the appellate court. On September 5th, the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Department 1-2 dismissed the appeals from both the prosecutor and the defendant, Ms. Cho, who had been charged with violating the law regarding the punishment of stalking crimes.
In the initial trial, Ms. Cho was sentenced to one year in prison with a two-year probation, a fine of 100,000 KRW, 120 hours of community service, and 40 hours of education on preventing stalking crimes. This ruling has been upheld in the appeal.
Ms. Cho faced charges for sending a total of 544 messages to Jung Eunji via text and social media from March 2020 to August 2021, including unsettling messages like, “Will you accept me as your servant and partner?” In May 2020, Cho, a delivery driver by profession, was accused of stalking Jung Eunji by following her vehicle on his motorcycle from KBS headquarters to a hair and makeup salon in Gangnam, Seoul. Furthermore, in July 2021, Cho was caught loitering in front of Jung Eunji’s apartment.
Despite receiving warnings from Apink's Jung Eunji’s agency and promising to cease further messages, Cho persisted in her behavior. This continued harassment led the agency to file a lawsuit against her in August 2021. Even after Jung Eunji announced on December 3, 2021, that she would stop using the Bubble app, Cho resumed sending messages through Instagram.
The first trial court stated that the content of the messages sent by the defendant exceeded typical expressions of support, interest, and affection from fans. The court emphasized that although the victim had joined Instagram and the Bubble app to engage with the public, this did not imply consent to any form of unwanted contact or approach.
The court also noted that the nature of the defendant’s crime is severe, causing significant emotional trauma, distress, and fear for the victim. Additionally, the defendant has shown no remorse and continues to deny the charges.
Ms. Cho, having avoided jail time, denied the charges and appealed the first trial's decision, while the prosecution also filed an appeal. This led to a cross-appeal in the second trial. The Seoul Central District Court ultimately dismissed the appeal from the 50-year-old Cho, who was charged with violating the Stalking Crime Prevention Act and related offenses. The prosecution's appeal for a harsher punishment was also rejected.
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