Lee Seok Cheol And Lee Seung Hyun's Parents + The East Light's Kim Jun Wook Testify In 3rd Trial For Abuse Case

On May 7 at 2 p.m. KST, the third trial for the case against Media Line Entertainment’s producer Moon Young Il, CEO Kim Chang Hwan, and president Lee Jung Hyun took place at the Seoul Central District Court.

In the first trial, Moon Young Il pleaded guilty to the charges laid against him of chronic and special violence. He has been accused of physically and mentally abusing former The East Light members Lee Seok Cheol and Lee Seung Hyun.

Kim Chang Hwan has been charged with child abuse and aiding and abetting in child abuse. Lee Jung Hyun represents Media Line Entertainment, which has been charged with violating the Child Welfare Law. Both have denied these charges.

In the second trial, Lee Seok Cheol and Lee Seung Hyun underwent interrogation as witnesses. Another former The East Light member, Lee Eun Sung, was supposed to be interrogated as well, but did not show up in court.

In the third trial, Lee Seok Cheol and Lee Seung Hyun’s parents underwent interrogation as witnesses, as well as former The East Light member Kim Jun Wook.

Lee Seok Cheol and Lee Seung Hyun’s father underwent interrogation first. He testified that on June 13, 2017, he heard that producer Moon Young Il had physically assaulted and forcibly imprisoned Lee Seung Hyun. At the time, Lee Seung Hyun had said that Kim Chang Hwan was there as well.

The father said, “Seok Cheol brought Seung Hyun home and we saw that Seung Hyun had trouble getting his jacket off. We looked him over and saw that he had injuries on his head. We took off his clothes and saw injuries on his head, arms, shins, and rear.”

The father then went to speak immediately with the producer at the agency’s front door. According to the father, Moon Young Il had said, “I hit him because I got worked up.” The father testified that at the time, he had not known of the previous assaults and so he said to the producer, “If this is the first time, then we’ll comfort [Lee Seung Hyun]. But it’s wrong to hit children.”

Kim Chang Hwan had added, “The bleeding from his head isn’t that big a deal. You must have gotten hit a lot when you were in school, right? Getting hit can help you grow.” At the time, the father had asked Kim Chang Hwan about his role in the physical assault. According to the father’s testimony, Kim Chang Hwan grew defiant and unilaterally forced him to leave. He also didn’t hesitate to insult and swear at the father in front of Lee Seok Cheol.

The defendants’ lawyer claimed that the photos the parents had taken of Lee Seung Hyun’s injuries on June 14 did not match the description of the injuries that Lee Seung Hyun had on June 13. They claimed that Lee Seung Hyun had received further injuries in the time between the description on June 13 and the photos on June 14, implying that he had been assaulted by his parents.

Lee Seok Cheol and Lee Seung Hyun’s mother testified that the photos were taken on June 14 because the children had gone to sleep soon after their return home. The parents were told that Lee Seung Hyun would be taken to an orthopedics doctor on June 15, but the children had to leave early for a concert in Ulsan and did not return until late that night.

She testified, “Kim Chang Hwan knew that our child had been hit, so we thought he would treat his injuries, but they didn’t even give him a pain relief patch. We were so upset and angry.”

The father was also asked by the defendant’s lawyer about the defendant’s claims that the father had regularly hit his children with a golf club and a belt.

Before the first trial began, Kim Chang Hwan and Lee Jung Hyun held a press conference with former The East Light members Lee Eun Sung and Jung Sa Gang. In the press conference, the former band members and the agency executives accused the Lee brothers of lying and claimed that their father had been the one to assault them. The Lee brothers have since sued them for defamation.

In the third trial, the father testified, “I have never touched a golf club and I have never hit my children.”

He added, “Our children have been abused for years, but they were worried about the other members tried to hide it. I am deeply sorry to them as an adult. Even children have characters. As adults, we should protect children. They will be forever traumatized by what happened to them.” He added that he himself deeply regretted not being able to protect his children as a police officer.

Lee Seok Cheol and Lee Seung Hyun’s mother was the next to undergo interrogation. She said, “Lee Seung Hyun was yelled at by producer Moon Young Il because of soccer and told us one day while crying that he didn’t want to go to the agency because he was afraid of getting beat up and killed. We comforted him and sent him to the agency, and later Lee Seok Cheol helped him home around 11 p.m.” She testified that she had found bruises on Lee Seung Hyun’s body and that the agency had made no effort to treat his injuries.

She added, “My children joined The East Light because of a dream they’ve had since childhood. I have been deeply hurt by the lies that CEO Kim Chang Hwan has told. Rather than their physical injuries, their mental injuries are the most serious. One day, Seung Hyun contacted me to say, ‘Don’t be too sad if I die.’ I was so anxious for my child, who is more precious to me than my life, that I got into a minor car accident while trying to find him. Thankfully I was able to contact him and tell him that his mother had been in an accident. I told him to come find me. My children have lived a lie for so long. What if they had died [without revealing the truth]?” She then gestured to the defendants and said tearfully, “They have to be punished.”

Kim Jun Wook underwent interrogation as a witness after both parents had testified. He said, “I did not witness [the assault] directly. As for the conditions and the noises, they were so long ago that I do not remember.”

When asked about the assault that had caused bleeding from the head, Kim Jun Wook said, “He was hit by producer Moon Young Il in the head, but it wasn’t a particularly strong or weak blow. Everyone was shocked to see the blood flowing to the ground.”

When asked about the claim that Kim Chang Hwan had forced Lee Seung Hyun to accept electronic cigarettes, Kim Jun Wook said, “I remember hearing something about electronic cigarettes, but I don’t remember clearly. I wasn’t actually there at the time.”

He added about producer Moon Young Il, “He is someone who naturally speaks roughly to people. He swears a lot. He has resorted to corporal punishment before, but I heard that on the day [mentioned in previous testimony] he hit harder than usual.”

Kim Jun Wook said about Lee Seung Hyun, “He is generally bad at controlling his emotions and he has shown rough behavior from time to time.” Kim Jun Wook also testified that Lee Seung Hyun had been yelled at more than most by Moon Young Il and said, “Seung Hyun normally plays guitar, so I think he was upset at being switched to the bass.”

The fourth trial will take place on June 7 and producer Moon Young Il will be interrogated as a witness. On June 11, a Media Line employee and former The East Light member Lee Eun Sung will be interrogated as witnesses. The official end to the proceedings has been scheduled for June 14.

Source (1) (2)