Actor Cha Seung Won's son Cha No Ah will be going to prison. On Oct. 1, the 24-year-old former professional gamer in the LG-IM League of Legend was sentenced to ten months for smoking marijuana. His family appealed the charges and his legal team asked for mercy.
His lawyers pointed out that although Cha No Ah has admitted to using marijuana, he did not use it on a regular basis and he did not buy it.
"I am seriously reflecting on my wrongdoings," said Cha No Ah when he spoke at the trial's closing. "I am very sorry to my family and everyone around me."
Cha No Ah, also called Noah, was charged with marijuana possession in March, along with television personality Bianca Mobley of "Chit Chat With Beautiful Ladies" and Daniel of the boy band DMTN. Possessing and using marijuana in South Korea is a criminal act that can lead to imprisonment or a heavy fine.
Cha No Ah also faces a sexual assault case, which will require his presence in court on Oct. 17. In August, a 19-year-old high school student filed assault charges against him, saying that he held her against her will and repeatedly raped her. He says he is innocent of these charges and that the couple was dating.
On Sept. 9, the alleged victim's mother filed a petition asking why the investigation was taking so long. She stated that she and her daughter had no plans to settle.
"We already submitted the evidence but the investigation is taking way too long, which is making it hard for our family," said the mother. "We think that Cha No Ah needs to receive a strong punishment so there won't be a second or third time. Since all the evidence is there, I hope the court will quickly decide on a punishment."
She said that she would have known if the couple dated, although she had heard her daughter call Cha No Ah "oppa."
A day after the assault charges first made the news, actor Cha Seung Won apologized publicly for his son's behavior. Cha Seung Won, the 43-year-old actor who starred in the dramas "City Hall," "The Greatest Love" and "Athena: Goddess of War," posted a statement on his Me2day page:
" Before I'm actor Cha Seung Won, I'm a father and I would like to apologize for my shortcomings as a father. I'm responsible for the son that caused this trouble and I cannot ease my troubled and broken heart."
Cha Seung Won married in 1989 when he was an 18-year-old college freshman. He and wife Lee Soo Jin also have a daughter, Cha Ye Ni, called Rachel, born in 2003.
