A South Korean military court sentenced former K-pop star Seungri to three years in prison on August 12, more than two years after sexual assault allegations first surfaced, shocking the country.
In 2020, the former member of Big Bang was accused of arranging prostitutes for investors, embezzlement, bribery, unlawful gambling, and violating foreign currency exchange and food hygiene regulations.
The disgraced K-pop star was also fined 1.15 billion won by the court. According to a source, the former member of the boy band BIGBANG was brought into detention after an army court in Yongin, near Seoul ruled against him.
Seungri (real name- Lee Seung-Hyun) was charged with various allegations in January 2020, including providing illegal sexual services for business investors from Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong between 2015 and 2016. From 2013 to 2017, he was found guilty of embezzling funds from a Seoul nightclub he owned and of breaking rules prohibiting overseas gambling by betting significantly at international casinos. He denied the majority of the allegations.
The trial and sentence of Seungri were part of the bigger "Burning Sun" scandal, which involved a nightclub in Seoul's posh Gangnam neighbourhood. Seungri was a member of the club's board of directors and was in charge of its publicity.
According to the Police, bribery, violence against clients, securing prostitutes for VIPs, rape, drug trafficking, and drug use were all reported at Burning Sun. Several women have come forward to say they were sexually abused or drugged at the club.
Also Read: Eminem’s ex-wife, Kim Scott attempts suicide, know why?
Following an investigation, two more K-pop stars, Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon were sentenced to six and five years in prison, respectively, for sharing sexually explicit videos of women taken without their knowledge or consent in an online group chat.
The scandal has also dragged down people outside of the entertainment sector, including former police officer and nightclub personnel.
Meanwhile, fans of the K-Pop star took to social media to express their support to him.
Where one Twitter user said, "I would've been okay with the decision if they found Seungri guilty based on all the evidence that was presented but they didn't. And yet here they are giving him prison time even after the lack of evidence on his involvement in the prostitution case,” another wrote, “Sorry but if you followed Seungri's case, there's no way you should accept the court's decision, especially after hearing the witnesses and Ri's statements, and now the judge's statements. They had no solid evidence against him and he never hurt anyone or was accused by anyone."