Former NCT 127 member and K-pop idol Taeil indicted without detention for aggravated rape

It was revealed on Tuesday (March 4) that a prior arrest warrant request for Taeil had been denied, reported Korean entertainment news outlet, Koreaboo.

According to legal sources, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office’s Women and Children’s Crime Investigation Division 1 officially indicted the 30-year-old and two accomplices on February 28 under the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes.

Initial reports suggested that weapons may have been involved, as aggravated rape charges can apply when a weapon is used or when multiple perpetrators assault a victim in a state of unconsciousness or incapacitation. However, authorities later confirmed that no weapons were involved in the crime.

The case first came to light when the victim reported the assault in June last year. The Bangbae Police Station in Seoul applied for arrest warrants for the three suspects, but the court denied the request, citing the suspects’ admission of the crime and a low necessity for detention.

Taeil was summoned for police questioning in August, two months after the initial report, before the case was forwarded to prosecution in September.

Unlike his accomplices, Taeil did not attend the prosecution’s investigation, citing health issues. He submitted both a medical certificate and a legal opinion from his attorney. However, prosecutors proceeded with his indictment without detention. The suspects have denied premeditating the crime.

Taeil’s indictment follows his contract termination with SM Entertainment on October 16, just over a week after reports revealed that he had been investigated on charges of aggravated rape.

Taeil was charged with "Special Quasi-Rape," a legal term in South Korea indicating an aggravated offence involving multiple perpetrators and a victim unable to resist due to intoxication or unconsciousness.