South Korean international footballer Hwang Ui-jo on Friday received a suspended jail term for filming sexual encounters with a woman without her consent, the country's Yonhap news agency said.

The 32-year-old former Premier League forward pleaded guilty in court in October.

"Considering the seriousness of the social harm caused by illegal filming crimes, it is necessary to impose a strict punishment," Judge Lee Yong-je said Friday, according to Yonhap.

"Mr. Hwang filmed sexual intercourse scenes against the will of the victim using his mobile phone on four occasions," the judge added.

The scandal came to light when Hwang's sister-in-law posted private explicit videos of Hwang in an attempt to blackmail him in June 2023.

She is now serving three years in prison for blackmail.

Prosecutors had asked the Seoul Central District Court for a four-year jail term for Hwang when they made their closing arguments in the case in October.

But the court Friday noted Hwang's acknowledgement of his wrongdoing and his remorse in handing him a suspended sentence, according to Yonhap.

The fact that a third party distributed the footage on social media without his involvement was also taken into account, the news agency said.

Hwang had been charged with illegally filming sex without his partners' consent on four occasions between June and September 2022.

Two victims were initially named, but Hwang was convicted on charges related to only one, Yonhap said.

Hwang, who was an unused reserve for Premier League Nottingham Forest before moving to Turkey, said in a prepared statement to the judge in October: "I offer my sincerest apologies to the victims who have suffered because of my wrongdoings.

"I sincerely plead for the utmost leniency."

Hwang, who has featured more than 60 times for South Korea and now plays for Alanyaspor, had initially claimed he was innocent before admitting the offences in court.

He last played for his country in 2023.

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