Former Idol Admits To Sexual Assault, Filming The Victim And Sending Video; Faces More Prison Time

A former idol from one of the K-Pop groups of the third generation confessed to sexually assaulting another victim, even though he is already facing jail time for a similar case since 2021.

Kim Him-chan — a former member of B.A.P — has been brought to court again for the third time. But this time, he is being sued for violating South Korea's Special Act on the Punishment of Rape and Sexual Assault Crimes, which includes filming using cameras and obscene acts using communication media, among others, per Star News.

The 33-year-old South Korean artist was charged after it was discovered that he sexually assaulted, illegally filmed and transmitted the footage of an unidentified woman in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, in May 2022.

Following his admission to the crime, the victim planned to continue the legal battle as Him-chan was being called for "severe punishment" for his crimes. The latter also faces a second sexual offense for forcibly molesting two other women outside a bar in Yongsan-gu last year.

The "ONE SHOT" singer was initially scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 8. However, due to the added charges, his trial is being pushed back to Nov. 21 at 10:40 a.m. KST.

Over two years ago, the Seoul Central District Court found Him-chan guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s who accompanied him at a guesthouse in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, back in 2018. He was accused of molesting the woman and forcibly kissing her. Upon his indictment in 2019, he confessed to doing such acts but defended that it was consensual for both parties.

Eventually, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison and was to undergo 40 hours of a sex crime intervention program.

Him-chan debuted in 2012 as a member of B.A.P — which stands for Best Absolute Perfect. He and his other bandmates were supposedly on the rise to become among the best of their generation, competing against the likes of BTS and EXO. But after facing a long legal battle with its former agency, TS Entertainment, its fame slowly faded from the limelight.

After all members had left TS, the group ultimately disbanded in 2019 and pursued solo careers. Him-chan, for his part, prepared for his solo debut, releasing the album "Reason Of My Life" in October 2021. Promotions for the album, however, were immediately put on hold after he got caught drunk driving the day after the album dropped.