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In the MoneyToday article published on July 14, 2020, "Son Jeong-woo·Choi Jong-beom··· The reason the court keeps getting criticized: the 'particularity' of sex crimes," an interview with Law Firm Jonjae's managing attorney No Jong-eon was featured.

"Is remaining still by the victim really true consent?"

Attorney No Jong-eon, the lawyer for the bereaved family of the late Ms. Goo Hara, asked back, **"Do you really think a victim remaining still is true consent?"**

This is why it is difficult for victims to easily speak up in sexual violence crimes connected to illegally filmed material. Because responsibility for the crime is shifted onto the 'victim' who was the subject of the illegal filming, and even secondary victimization occurs, leaving victims unable to speak.

Enduring and consenting are separate matters

The defendant and the victim in an illegal filming case should not have responsibility shifted onto the victim merely because they were lovers, spouses, friends, or coworkers. Enduring the harm and implicitly consenting are clearly different facts, and the court must make its decision by giving priority to the 'victim's intent'.

Attorney No Jong-eon's statement was the core issue running through the entire Choi Jong-beom case. Both the first- and second-instance courts acquitted on the illegal filming charge, citing the facts that "the victim did not stop the filming and did not delete the photos." In response, Attorney No Jong-eon consistently stated during the trial that "implicit consent and enduring the situation are clearly separate matters."

Progress after the appeal

The bereaved family of the late Ms. Goo Hara and Attorney No Jong-eon expressed their opinion to the prosecution in favor of an appeal, and the prosecution also recognized the importance of the case and appealed to the Supreme Court on July 8, 2020. However, on October 15, 2020, Supreme Court First Division (Presiding Justice Park Jeong-hwa) upheld the lower court's ruling, making one year in prison the final sentence, and the acquittal on illegal filming was also finalized.

Attorney No Jong-eon also expressed regret immediately after the Supreme Court ruling and said he hoped that in all future sex crime cases, rulings would be made in line with the public's universal sense of justice and common sense.