Fitness model Yoo Soo-seok안전놀이터, who rose to fame after appearing on a dating reality program, has been sentenced to prison in a first trial for attempting to sexually assault a brothel worker.
The Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 29 (Chief Judge Kim Seung-jung) sentenced the actor, who was charged with attempted rape, to 10 months in prison on Tuesday. He was also ordered to complete a 40-hour sexual assault treatment program.
Yoo went on trial in February for attempting to sexually assault an employee at a nightclub in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
“He is highly reprehensible in that he committed the crime even though he was on probation,” the court said, adding, “He expressed his desire to settle amicably with the victim and not be punished, but since he was on probation, a prison sentence is inevitable.”
Yoo was also tried in August last year for breaking into his ex-lover’s home and assaulting a police officer who responded to the scene, and was sentenced in January to six months in prison and two years’ probation.
If the verdict in the attempted rape case is finalized during the probation period, the probationary sentence will become invalid, meaning he will have to serve a total of 16 months in prison.
A former modeling champion at the “2015 Musclemania” fitness world competition, Yoo Soo-seok rose to fame last year when he appeared on the IHQ dating show “Eden,” but his violent past sparked criticism.
In April 2019, he was sentenced to six months in prison and two years of probation after being charged with assaulting Cha Cha-rim, a former figure skater, causing her to suffer six weeks of disabling injuries.