Goo Hara's ex Choi Jong-bum's case back in limelight as fans furious at judge for watching their sex tape
After new details emerged regarding Choi Jong-bum threatening his ex-girlfriend Goo Hara and her label head with the release of a sex tape, there has been a renewed interest in the court case filed against Jong-bum for assault and blackmail. The case had first been heard in August 2019, and Jong-bum had received three years probation after he was found guilty of intimidation, assault, coercion and property damage.
However, both the parties had filed appeals in September 2019 and the current interest derives from the fact that the judge overseeing the case watched the sex tape.
Fans are furious at the judge who had chosen to see the sex tape filmed by Jong-bum. Judge Oh Deon Shik watching the tape has been deemed completely unnecessary by the prosecution in the initial case.
When Jong-bum claimed that Hara was completely dressed in the video, while he was the one who was naked in most part of the video, and hence he had not much to blackmail her with, the judge decided to verify his claims.
He had said, "I am in 90% of the video and am not wearing clothes while Hara is wearing clothes. There is nothing I could threaten her with."
Chief criminal officer Kim Byung-soo sent an email to all the judges in the Seoul district in which he wrote, "The situation in which Judge Oh checked the video was unavoidable," and added, "Although the lawyer opposed this decision, it has been revealed that Judge Oh checked the video in the judges’ chambers."
Judge Oh decided to watch the video in his chamber after concern about the video spreading was raised by Goo Hara's lawyers.
According to a report in Allkpop, Goo Hara's lawyer said, "Even though it’s in a private setting, I am opposed to many people being able to see reproductions of this video, and it’s hard to take. This is a second round of assault."
After watching the video, Judge Oh convicted Jong-bum of blackmail, however, he eventually ruled that although consent didn't seem to be given explicitly in the video, it was hard to conclude that the tape was shot without Hara's consent.
This resulted in no charges being filed for illegal filming and resulted in fans ire against the judge on social media, and which has been growing since.
Now reports have emerged that Jong-bum had not only threatened Goo Hara with releasing the sex tape but had also demanded that the late K Pop star's label head kneel before him and apologize. This has swayed the public's opinion against Jong-bum before he is set to appear in court for the trial set on May 21 for the appeals.
Goo Hara committed suicide in February 2020, six months after surviving another attempt. She was discovered at her home in Cheongdam-dong. She was battling depression caused by all the negativity that had resulted from her taking a public stand against her ex-boyfriend.