Seo Jun-won (24) was found guilty on appeal.

Former professional baseball player Seo Jun-won (24) was found guilty on appeal.

The Busan High Court Criminal Division 1 (Chief Judge Park Joon-yong) on Tuesday rejected the prosecution’s appeal at the sentencing hearing for Seo Jun-won, who was charged with violating the Sexual Protection of Children and Adolescents Act (production and distribution of sexual exploitation materials) and violating the Child Welfare Act, and upheld the original sentence of three years in prison and five years’ probation.

Earlier, the prosecution had appealed the sentence handed down in the first trial on the grounds that it was too light. The original sentence, which included 40 hours of sexual assault treatment, 120 hours of community service, and a five-year work restriction at a facility for children, youth, and people with disabilities, was also upheld.

The appellate division said, “The defendant is a public figure in the public eye and is expected to set an example of behavior. However, considering the date of the crime was only one day, the fact that he did not distribute the video, and the fact that he settled with the victim for 20 million won, the sentence does not seem light,” the court said in its reasoning for rejecting the appeal.

Seo was a top pitching prospect from Gyeongnam High School who was Lotte’s first-round pick in 2019.

His 150-kilometer-per-hour sidearm was so special that he was selected to the youth national team as a sophomore. In 2018, he won the inaugural high school Choi Dong-won Award. At the time, Lotte also had Gyeongnam High School outfielder Noh Si-hwan 메이저사이트 (Hanwha) in its sights, but Lotte chose Seo Jun-won without hesitation. It was a no-brainer, no-doubt choice.

After signing with Badok for $350 million, Seo struggled through 2022, going 15-23 with a 5.56 ERA in 123 games (318⅔ innings) over four seasons in the first team. After a promising start to his career, he gained weight and failed to take care of himself. He lost weight ahead of the 2023 season, raising expectations, but was released by Lotte after a scandalous underage sex offense was revealed.

In August 2022,

Seo Jun-won was accused of producing sexually exploitative material after forcing a minor he met through an open chat on social media to send him photos of her body. Despite being investigated by the police, Seo persisted without informing the club, adding to his crime of deceiving the club. The KBO also suspended him from participation, effectively banning him for life. The Choi Dong-won Memorial Foundation also stripped him of his awards.

Even while on probation, Seo was in trouble again for drunk driving. On May 31 last year, at 0:30 a.m., a passenger car rear-ended a taxi waiting at a traffic light at an intersection in Gaegeum-dong, Busanjin-gu, Busan, and the taxi driver was treated at a hospital. The driver of the accident, Seo Jun-won, was found to be under the influence of alcohol at the level of a suspended driver’s license and was charged.