The husband of Kim Seul-ah, CEO of Kurly, a fresh food delivery e-commerce platform, has been sentenced to a suspended prison term at his first trial on charges of sexually assaulting a probationary employee.
Presiding Judge Chu Jin-seok of the Seoul Eastern District Court's Criminal Division 5 on Wednesday sentenced Jeong, 49, CEO of Next Kitchen, to six months in prison with a two-year suspended sentence on charges of forcible molestation. The court also ordered him to complete 40 hours of sexual violence treatment classes.
"The severity and degree of the defendant's molestation of the victim, who was merely a probationary employee, while he served as company CEO, was not light," Judge Chu said. "Despite the victim's attempts to escape the molestation, the defendant continued the act in the presence of other colleagues, which must have caused considerable sexual humiliation and revulsion."
However, the judge noted mitigating factors in the sentencing. "The defendant has admitted to the crime and shown remorse, and has reached an amicable settlement by paying a certain amount of compensation to the victim," Judge Chu said.
Jeong was indicted in January after being accused of sexually assaulting a probationary employee identified as "A" at a restaurant in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on June 26 last year. The investigation found that he touched the employee's arms and waist and made remarks to the effect of "I like you."
Jeong serves as CEO of Next Kitchen, a company that supplies home meal replacement (HMR) products and other items to Kurly. Next Kitchen is an affiliate in which Kurly holds a 46.4% stake.