[Summary] T.O.P First Hearing (Trial) at Court 2017-06-29

T.O.P's statement outside the Court house:

TOP's Statement:

Full statement translation by KPopBehind:

I apologize to all the people who were hurt and disappointed because of me. I was stupid.

I suffered from mental depression and sleep disorders for a long time, and my unstable mental state made me make a big mistake.

I made a mistake on the spur of the moment. I know I disappointed so many people.

I'm ashamed of myself. This will never happen again, and I will gladly accept any punishment.

And I want to say sorry to my mother.

“I sincerely apologize to everyone I have hurt or disappointed through this incident. I have made an irreversible mistake because of my unstable mental state of being and am reflecting deeply upon my actions.”

“This incident is the worst moment of my life and I am regretting it terribly. I will receive my punishment readily and make sure that nothing like this ever happens again.”

Summary:

T.O.P officially apologized at court today. He made a statement and bowed (see above).

The prosecution is asking for a sentence of 10 months prison, suspended for 2 years. These 2 years would be a probation period, which means if there are no further charges during these two years, T.O.P would not need to go to prison.

The Sentence Hearing will happen on 20th July at 1:50pm (KST): It is here when the court will announce the actual sentence.

T.O.P's lawyers are asking for a lighter sentence in regards to T.O.P's young age and his already severely damaged reputation as a celebrity.

According to Koreaboo this is the translation of the lawyers' statement in the court room:

During the incident, T.O.P was under mental distress and psychologically stressed out. He met with Han Seo Hee when he was drunk and spontaneously decided to smoke with her.

T.O.P is deeply sorry for what he did and regrets it a lot. He did drink heavily and took Han Seo Hee up on her suggestion [to smoke] but he ended his relationship with Han Seo Hee and stopped smoking marijuana.

 

He has currently suffered unrecoverable amounts of damage as a celebrity from an impulsive crime he committed previous to the army. Please show him leniency and give him a light sentence such as a fine.”

— T.O.P’s Lawyer

Further information on this first hearing as outlined in this article by DongA:

The sentence the prosecution is asking for (10 month prison suspended for a 2-year probation period) is below a prison-time of 18 months, this means that T.O.P can return to continue his military-service unless the Court deems him ineligible for it. Should this be the case, he will serve as a social worker or reservist. Currently T.O.P has served 117 days out of 637 mandatory ones, which means the military time remaining is 520 days.

Korea Herald Article:

T.O.P of BIGBANG reads a statement in front of the press on Thursday ahead of his first trial held at the Seoul Central District Court. (Yonhap)

Prosecutors are seeking a suspended sentence against a top boy band rapper charged with marijuana use.

On the first day of the trial Thursday, the prosecution said it is seeking a 10-month jail sentence suspended for two years for BIGBANG rapper T.O.P, who has been charged with using marijuana on four occasions.

T.O.P entered the Seoul Central District Court at around 11:31 a.m. clad in a black suit and read a statement of apology in front of press.

Asked if he still denies charges of using liquid marijuana on two of the four occasions, he answered, “I am in the middle of a trial right now, so it is difficult to answer.”

In the prepared statement, T.O.P said, ”I was foolish. In the past, I wanted to escape from myself in the dark due to depression and severe anxiety disorder. My disorderly state of mind led to impulsive wrongdoing and an irrevocable mistake, and I disappointed many people.”

He ended the statement by apologizing to his mother.

“You will find out everything after the trial,” he said when asked how he first came to use marijuana.

T.O.P was recently suspended from serving as a conscripted policeman per regulations that mandate suspension of duties for police conscripts who are indicted on criminal charges.

By Rumy Doo (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Other English articles from Korean Media:

• First civic campaign to legalize medical use of marijuana in S. Korea
• T.O.P attends first hearing for marijuana charges, apologizes to mother
• T.O.P admits to all charges at first hearing
• Lawyer Indirectly Confirms T.O.P Was In Relationship With Trainee Involved In Marijuana Case