Verdict reached in footballer Hwang Ui-Jo's hidden filming scandal

Hwang Ui-jo, a Norwich City footballer from South Korea, has been accused of secretly filming his ex-girlfriend without her consent in May 2023. Korea JoongAng Daily reports that the case has become more complicated since November 2023, especially now that his sister-in-law has been jailed.

Hwang Ui-jo was born on August 28, 1992, in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, South Korea. According to the Canaries, Hwang Ui-jo had played for Seongnam FC after qualifying for the team based on his performance at Yonsei University during his youth.

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Hwang Ui-jo was a member of the South Korean national team that competed in the 2018 Asian Games. According to Forbes, Hwang Ui-jo helped earn gold for the country while on the team, making this the country's second consecutive gold win in football at the Asian Games.

Image: norwichcityfc / Instagram

According to official data collected by the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation, Hwang Ui-jo set the record for being the top goalscorer and main contributor to the 2018 Asian Games victory!

2018 was a significant year for Hwang Ui-jo in setting him up to become one of South Korea’s most valuable football players, as he also later went on to earn multiple ‘Player of the Year’ awards in Japan and Korea!

Other than playing for Seongnam FC, Hwang Ui-jo has played for teams outside of Korea. He has been part of Gamba Osaka in Japan, France’s Bordeaux team, and is currently a permanent team member of the UK’s Nottingham Forest FC.

Since signing up with Nottingham Forest FC, Hwang Ui-jo has been an ‘on-loan’ player and played for multiple clubs. According to Canaries, he is now currently playing for Norwich City and will be playing for the team until the 2024 season.

Did you know?: Allkpop reports that back in 2022, Hwang Ui-jo was dating a k-pop idol. It was reported that Hwang Ui-jo was dating T-ara’s Hyomin from November 2021 to March 2022.

Image: hyominnn / Instagram

Many people were surprised when Koreaboo reported in May 2023 that Hwang Ui-jo's s e x tapes had leaked online on an SNS board. This was a huge scandal back then, as he was and still is considered one of Korea’s most celebrated footballers.

Image: norwichcityfc / Instagram

The same report continued that because the video featured him and his then-girlfriend, Hwang Ui-jo attempted to persuade his then-girlfriend to sue the person responsible for the leak, as he, too, was being blackmailed as a result of it.

Image: hwanguijo_official / Instagram

The Korea Times reported in June that not only were his s e x tapes leaked, but Hwang Ui-jo had also become a victim of a smear campaign by the leaker.

Image: hwanguijo_official / Instagram

Koreaboo reported that Hwang Ui-jo was accused of cheating and sleeping with multiple women, including celebrities, by the leaker who had uploaded the s e x tapes along with the accusation.

Image: hwanguijo_official / Instagram

Hwang Ui-jo has denied all accusations made by the leaker in June and has also denied involvement in any “illegal act," reported The Korea Times.

Despite his denial of any "illegal act," Hwang Ui-jo's ex-girlfriend accused the footballer of committing a crime by filming her without her consent on the leaked tapes, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.

Image: hwanguijo_official / Instagram

Other than the accusation of filming without consent, another Korea JoongAng Daily report notes that Hwang Ui-jo was also accused of illegally sharing the tapes with his "acquaintances."

Image: hwanguijo_official / Instagram

The footballer, however, has denied the accusation and said that the videos were taken with consent “after reaching agreement with his ex-girlfriend”, reports Koreaboo.

Image: hwanguijo_official / Instagram

In November, Korea JoongAng Daily reported that the ex-girlfriend in question had decided to sue Hwang Ui-jo instead. According to the report, the ex-girlfriend provided evidence of non-consent via text logs between her and Hwang Ui-jo.

Image: hwanguijo_official / Instagram

In the midst of the tape leaks, Hwang Ui-jo had gone from victim to possible perpetrator of a crime, complicating the case. According to Koreaboo, the police investigation into the footballer as a suspect for s e x ual assault for the crime of filming without consent began in November 18.

In a more surprising twist to the story, Allkpop reports that the perpetrator of the leaks turned out to be Hwang Ui-jo’s sister-in-law after a police investigation revealed the perpetrator through an IP trace. She has been arrested and is now under police custody.

Image: hwanguijo_official / Instagram

According to Allkpop, not only did his sister-in-law continue to deny involvement, but Hwang Ui-jo has also stood up to defend his relative, claiming that this must be a "misunderstanding" despite the evidence mounted against her.

Yonhap News reports that the footballer has been banned from participating in Korea's national team due to the investigation into allegations of illegal filming. Despite passing the qualifiers, the footballer will not be representing his country in the upcoming World Cup.

In a surprising update to the case, Hwang Ui-jo's sister-in-law confessed to being the leaker of the tapes and reversed her previous denials on February 21, reports Korea JoongAng Daily.

The same report from Korea JoongAng Daily states that Hwang Ui-jo's sister-in-law revealed the motive behind the leaks: that it was all for revenge against the footballer for neglecting his family members who had uprooted their lives in South Korea to support his football career.

The confession of the crime by Hwang Ui-jo's sister-in-law adds new information to the ongoing charges for illegal filming that the footballer currently has, reports The Korea Times.

The Independent reported on March 15 with an update, that a verdict has been reached on Hwang Ui-jo's case, that his sister-in-law has been sentenced to jail for three years for distributing the illicit videos.

Image: hwanguijo_official / Instagram

However, the case for Hwang Ui-jo's alleged illegal filming of his partners without consent has not yet been reached. We await further news on the update.

Image: hwanguijo_official / Instagram

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