Former DIA Somyi’s Prison Sentence Sparks Heated Debate On Sexist Double-Standards In Korea

On March 21, KST, former DIA member Somyi was sentenced to prison by the Seoul Central District Court.

Somyi has been punished with a prison term of one year and six months on charges of falsely accusing her agency’s CEO of sexual assault. The ruling was made based on the inconsistency of Somyi’s statement to the investigative agencies and the CCTV footage related to the incident. The former idol-turned-streamer had registered a formal complaint with the police about CEO “B” in January 2023 and pushed for it to be sent to prosecution after the case was dropped initially.

However, the prosecution argued in court that Somyi was seen walking out of the alleged assault scene “calmly,” and she even went inside the office to hug “B.” Though her lawyer counter-argued that she was intoxicated and not sound of judgment at that time, the court deemed her guilty of making false accusations and sentenced her to prison.

This ruling has created a heated debate in the K-Pop community. The dissatisfaction with Somyi being sent to prison comes in layers. Firstly, fans are appalled that the court made the ruling based on Somyi not behaving like the “perfect victim” after the alleged assault.

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Secondly, many were enraged that Somyi received the same length of prison term as Seungri, the infamous K-Pop idol who was jailed for his involvement in the Burning Sun sex scandal. He was indicted on charges of prostitution, prostitution mediation, embezzlement, violating food safety laws, habitual gambling, and violating the foreign exchange law.

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Many felt that Somyi’s sentencing carries a misogynistic undertone for the disproportionate amount of prison term she got compared to many of the perpetrators involved in the Burning Sun case. What do you think?