Former BIGBANG Member Seungri Sentenced to Three Years in Prison
The ex-pop star will also have to pay a fine of 1,156,900,000 won (approximately $1 million)
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - AUGUST 28: Seungri, formerly a member of South Korean boy band BIGBANG is seen arriving at a police station on August 28, 2019 in Seoul, South Korea. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has booked Seungri, a former member of K-pop boy band BIGBANG and the former CEO of the bands's music label YG Entertainment to question over the charges of gambling in a foreign country and securing the money in violation of South Korean law. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
Following the orders issued by the Army’s General Military court on August 12, former pop star Seungri will be facing three years of imprisonment.
The singer and businessman, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, was a member of veteran K-pop group BIGBANG before he announced his exit from the group and retirement from the entertainment industry in 2019. His departure followed the news of his supposed involvement in the Burning Sun Scandal.
In 2019, Burning Sun– a high-profile club with Seungri as one of the club’s directors–was found to be the hub of illicit drug activities, prostitution, and police corruption. Investigation revealed the involvement of several K-pop stars, including singer Jung Joon-young who confessed to secretly filming himself having sex with women and sharing the video assets without their consent.
Further investigation revealed a chat room with illegally filmed videos and explicit conversations between Jung Joon-young, Seungri, Yong Jun-hyung of Highlight, and Choi Jong-hoon of F.T. Island regarding women. Following these revelations, Yong, Jung and Choi left their bands, and the latter two were sentenced to six and five years in prison respectively.
After two years of ongoing trials, Seungri was convicted on nine counts of charges– violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes, violation of the Food Sanitation Act, embezzlement, violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes, habitual gambling, violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, prostitution mediation, purchase of prostitution services, and special violence instigation.
The singer– who initially denied all charges barring the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act violation– has also been instructed by the court to pay a fine of 1,156,900,000 won (approximately $1 million).
Commenting on the charges, the court stated, “The defendant conspired with Yoo In Suk [Seungri’s former business partner and CEO of Yuri Holdings] to mediate prostitution for foreign investors on several occasions and gained profits.” They continued, “The defendant’s crimes that commercialized sex have a large negative influence on society. As his testimonies were inconsistent and changed between the police investigation, prosecution investigation, and at court, his credibility is low.”
With his ongoing mandatory military services (scheduled to conclude this September) on pause, Seungri is currently awaiting due process in police custody.
