A high-profile entertainment executive in his 50s, identified only by his surname Ko, has been referred to prosecutors without detention on suspicion of sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman and abandoning her on a roadside, authorities said.
Seoul’s Seocho Police Station announced on the 19th that Mr. Ko was sent to the prosecution on suspicion of sexual assault and negligence causing injury, without being taken into custody.
According to an exclusive report by TV Chosun, in August, Mr. Ko picked up a heavily intoxicated woman who could not stand on her own from a street in Seoul’s Gangnam district and drove her in his SUV. About 20 minutes later, after parking in an alley by a commercial building, he allegedly turned off the engine and assaulted her inside the vehicle, investigators said.
Mr. Ko denied the allegations in police questioning, but investigators say the incident was clearly visible in CCTV footage enhanced with AI technology. He then allegedly dragged the staggering woman out of the car, left her next to a utility pole, and drove away. Roughly an hour and a half later, a passerby called for help; the woman was taken to a hospital and diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage, a skull fracture, and optic nerve damage, and authorities say she has experienced vision loss.
Police twice sought an arrest warrant, citing the seriousness of the case and flight risk concerns, but both requests were denied. Mr. Ko is currently under prosecutorial review without detention.
The case allegedly occurred about four months after Mr. Ko was released from prison in April, fueling public outrage.
According to Hankyung.com, Mr. Ko was convicted in January 2021 of sex crimes against five women he did not know―including incidents involving intoxicated victims in his car―and served a two-year prison sentence. While he was serving as CEO, Entertainment Group A announced his resignation in April 2023, citing “personal reasons.”
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)