Two K-pop singers were sentenced to prison by a South Korean court after they were found guilty of gang-raping two women in separate incidents, one of them convicted of secretly filming and distributing sex videos as well. The court also sentenced each man to 80 hours in "sexual violence treatment" education.

Jung Joon-young was sentenced to six years in prison for raping a woman and distributing a video capturing the act. The 30-year-old was arrested in March. Meanwhile, Choi Jong-hoon, also 30 and a former member of South Korean boy band FT Island, was sentenced to five years in prison for the rape of a woman, reports Reuters.

It has been found that both the singers were members of online chat groups that shared secret sex tapes and made jokes about drugging and raping women, the Seoul Central District Court said.

"The defendants are well-known celebrities and friends, but the chat they've had showed that they simply considered women as objects of sexual pleasure, and committed crimes that were extremely serious," Judge Kang Seong-soo said while delivering the verdict, adding that "strict punishment is inevitable as the damage inflicted has not properly been recovered and the victims demand harsh penalties."

The identities of the victims were not revealed to protect their privacy. Jung's imprisonment includes spy-cam crimes as he used to illegally distribute the videos he took secretly while having sex with women. The judge said the Jung had raped women who were "drunk and unable to resist, filmed them nude and having sex, then spread it on a group chat."

Though Jung has admitted distributing the videos, he continues to claim that sex was consensual in all the cases. Choi has also not confessed of raping the woman and argues that he did not remember having sex with her and if he had, it was likely consensual.

K-pop star Jung Joon-young convicted of gang rape
K-pop star Jung Joon-young convicted of gang rape JUNG Yeon-Je/AFP

"I deeply regret my foolishness and I feel great remorse. From now on, I shall only ... live in remorse," Jung said in his final testimony.

The case against the duo was uncovered during an ongoing investigation against Seungri, a former member of K-pop group Big Bang, who was also a member of Jung's group chat. Seungri has been accused of supplying prostitutes to potential business investors.