Choi Youngjung, City Council Member Accused of Soliciting Sex from a Minor, Delays Phone Submission and Faces Search and Seizure

Sexual Relations Between October 2024 and May Last Year
Resignation Letter Submitted via City Council Floor Leader on the 16th

Choi Youngjung, a Cheongju City Council member who is under police investigation on charges including soliciting sex from a minor, is reportedly not cooperating with the police investigation.

According to police and other sources on July 16, the parents of the victim, a middle school student, filed a complaint against Assemblyman Choi at a Daejeon-area police station at the end of February, accusing him of violating the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse. About a month later, the case was transferred to Cheongwon Police Station in Cheongju, and around that time, the police requested Assemblyman Choi to appear for questioning for the first time.

From October 2024 to May of last year, Assemblyman Choi is accused of having sexual relations with the middle school student on three separate occasions in a vehicle and at a motel, and of requesting nude photos (charges include statutory rape of a minor and production of sexual exploitation material under the Act on the Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Abuse).

The police believe that Assemblyman Choi provided money or promised to buy cigarettes to the middle school student he met through a chat app and demanded sex, and they are investigating the precise circumstances.

Assemblyman Choi was aware that he had been accused even before receiving the request to appear, but delayed the investigation by citing reasons such as appointing a lawyer, and only appeared at the police station and was questioned for the first time in mid-May. Assemblyman Choi was preparing to run as a candidate for Cheongju City Council in the June 3 local elections, but during questioning by the police he did not disclose this and stated his occupation as a company employee. While he admitted to having sexual relations with the middle school student at the time, he denied the charges by saying, "I did not know she was a minor."

The police asked Assemblyman Choi to submit his mobile phone, but he delayed submission, saying he would hand it over after having it forensically processed by a private company, and ultimately did not submit it. As a result, the police expanded the investigation after confirming evidence that Assemblyman Choi had requested a nude photo from the victimized student, and conducted searches and seizures at Assemblyman Choi's office and residence, seizing his mobile phone and digital storage devices.

Some have criticized the police for being slow in their investigation, noting that major evidence was only obtained four months after the complaint was filed. A police official said, "We need to review the results of the digital evidence analysis," and added, "We have proceeded according to investigative procedure."

Meanwhile, the Ethics Committee of the People Power Party's North Chungcheong Provincial Chapter convened an emergency meeting on July 15 and decided to expel Assemblyman Choi. On July 16, Assemblyman Choi drafted a letter of resignation citing 'personal reasons' and submitted it to the city council via Lee Sangjo, the People Power Party floor leader of the Cheongju City Council.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.