Police Summon Former People Power Party Cheongju City Council Member Choi Youngjung for Questioning Over Child Prostitution Charges

On July 26, the police summoned and questioned Choi Young-jung, a former Cheongju City Council member from the People Power Party, on charges related to child prostitution.

Yonhap News Agency

According to Yonhap News Agency, former council member Choi appeared at Cheongju Cheongwon Police Station at around 2:00 p.m. on this day, where he was questioned for about four hours as a suspect on charges including statutory rape of a minor, production of child sexual exploitation material, and incitement to prostitution, in violation of the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sexual Offenses. This was Choi's second summons by the police, following a previous one in May. It was his first after police executed search and seizure operations at the city council and his residence on July 15.

The police reportedly pressed Choi on whether he had requested nude photos from the victim, a middle school student. They are also said to have questioned him about any additional offenses and investigated the overall circumstances surrounding the case.

It remains unclear how former council member Choi explained or defended the charges during the investigation on this day. However, during his first questioning in May, prior to the search and seizure, he had denied the allegations, stating, "I did not know she was a minor."

Choi is accused of having sexual relations with a minor in places such as his vehicle and a motel on three occasions over the course of a year starting from October 2024, and of requesting that she take and send him nude photos (statutory rape of a minor, production of child sexual exploitation material, incitement to prostitution, and conversations for the purpose of sexual exploitation, all under the Act on the Protection of Children and Youth against Sexual Offenses).

He is also accused of offering the victim more money if she brought a friend or her older sister along, and of engaging in sexually explicit conversations with her.

Meanwhile, on July 20, the Chungbuk Provincial Chapter of the People Power Party held an operations committee meeting and expelled former council member Choi from the party.

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