Netizens Furious Over Former B.A.P’s Himchan Evading Prison Despite His Third Sexual Assault Charge

Former B.A.P member Himchan, who went to trial on charges of sexual harassment in early 2023, has reportedly escaped a prison sentence despite being a repeat offender.

On February 1, the Seoul Western District Court’s Criminal Division announced the sentence of Himchan for sexually assaulting a woman in his home in May 2022. The former idol also filmed the act illegally and sent it to the victim a month later. Despite the seriousness of the crime, Himchan was sentenced to three years in prison, deferred by a five-year probation on charges of rape and violation of the Act on Punishment of Sexual Crimes.

This punishment left many surprised, as it not only failed to match the severity of his crime but also didn’t take into account that it was his third time facing charges of sexual crimes in the past six years.

First Case:

The first time Himchan was brought to trial on charges of sexual assault was in 2019, for molesting a woman in her 20s (identified as Ms. A) at a hotel in the Gyeonggi Province in 2018. After the trial, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison in 2021, and despite appealing, the appellate court enforced the same ruling in February 2022, following which Himchan was detained.

Second Case:

Just five days after pleading guilty in the first case, Himchan was accused again of sexual crimes. In October 2022, he was on trial for a different case of sexually assaulting two women in the outdoor staircase of a bar. During this incident, Himchan was intoxicated.

Third Case And Sentencing:

The third crime took place in May 2022, where he molested a victim, filmed it illegally, and sent it to her a month later. Keeping the nature of the crime and its frequency in consideration, prosecutors sought seven years in prison for Himchan. However, the sentences that were handed down turned out to be much more lenient. The judge mentioned that the ruling took into consideration that the perpetrator showed remorse and had reached a settlement with the victims. The court also said that the nature of the sexual assault was “mild,” given that he deleted all the filmed content and did not distribute it to third parties.

Apart from five years of probation, the court ordered Himchan to finish 40 hours of sexual violence treatment program. He is also prohibited from seeking employment at institutions related to children, youth, and people with disabilities for three years. The court also rejected the prosecution’s request to make him wear an ankle monitor. The judge additionally mentioned that a lot of the crimes were related to alcohol and advised the former idol to stay away from drinking.

Overall, the lenient sentencing and the court giving Himchan the benefit of the doubt for being intoxicated have enraged netizens. Many took to online communities to express their displeasure with this ruling and doubts about a possible foul play behind the scenes.

• “Can we replace the judges with AI? How does it make sense to give someone only probation for all that?”
• “Everyone~ our judges are destroying our country.”
• “If you’re gonna go easy on him, do the same for ordinary citizens too. If you’re not gonna do that, be prepared to be hit back (unsure about this sentence). There should not be any double standards in the law.”
• “The judges are looking after the criminals. It’s time to throw them away without any mercy.”
• “Even if you’re so full of strength that you can’t contain it, you shouldn’t be using sexual crimes to relieve that energy.”
• “This country shows mercy to criminals just because they were drunk. What kind of law is this?”

• “If the judge’s daughter were the victim, would the result be the same? Did he just tell the culprit not to drink alcohol? So, are crimes committed while drunk supposed to go unpunished? Why do these b*stards make the judgment based on the perpetrator’s perspective and not the victim’s…Judges like these need to disappear and be replaced by AI.”
• “Why the hell did they give him probation? Did he bribe them?”
• “As expected,… the judiciary is busy day in and day out creating criminals. Are all crimes exempted if you commit them under the influence of alcohol?
• “Maybe the judge should be sent to prison instead.”