From Idol to Ex-convict: A Recap of the Facts in Seungri’s Case
Many were shocked by the recent news that former K-pop star Seungri (real name Lee Seunghyun) was released from prison on 9th February, 2023. Seungri debuted as a member of Bigbang in 2006 and left the group in March 2019 due to criminal charges being brought against him. And in 2022, his sentence was finalized to one year and six months in prison after being declared guilty on nine charges. But how does one go from being considered one of the Kings of K-pop to being imprisoned? Let’s take a look back at the facts and events that led to Seungri’s downfall.
Seungri first came under public scrutiny in connection with his relation to the Gangnam club, Burning Sun, which he was a minor shareholder in. Allegations against the club were started by a man named Kim Sang-kyo, on 28th January 2019, who claimed that he was physically assaulted in Burning Sun for trying to save a female patron from being sexually harassed. This claim, along with further allegations made by Kim and media outlets spurred an investigation that captured national interest. However, in July 2019, the police revealed in a press conference that such allegations could not be confirmed and Kim Sang-kyo himself was convicted of sexual misconduct towards a woman three years later. One of the co-CEO’s of Burning Sun, Lee Moon-ho, had also clarified since 2019 that Seungri did not take part in managing the club.
Allegations against Seungri himself began on 26th February 2019, when text messages he allegedly sent in a KakaoTalk group chat surfaced. The messages suggested that Seungri, his business partner, Yoo In-seok, and others were involved in arranging prostitution services for foreign investors. In March 2019, more text messages were revealed alleging that Seungri received illegally filmed sexual content in a group chat. Soon after, other celebrities like Jung Joon-young, Choi Jong-hoon and Lee Jong-hyun were revealed to be active participants in group chats where such content was circulated. In Seungri’s case, although it was confirmed that he received one video due to being in a business-related chat room with Jung, Choi and others, reports revealed that he was not a member of any group chat where illegal sexual content was frequently distributed. In his court testimony, Seungri stated that it was unlikely that he had seen the video due to receiving hundreds of messages a day.
The initial allegations of prostitution were then followed by other allegations, some of which made it to court, while others were dropped. During the investigation phase, courts rejected arrest warrants for Seungri and his business partner twice. Seungri’s trial began on 16th September 2020 and he was indicted on nine charges: Violation of the Act on the Punishment of Prostitution (Prostitution Mediation etc.), Violation of the Act on the Punishment of Prostitution (Prostitution), Habitual Gambling, Violation of Foreign Exchange Transaction Act, Violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment etc. of Specific Economic Crimes, Embezzlement under Business/Occupation, Violation of the Act on Special Cases concerning the Punishment etc. of Sexual Crimes, Violation of the Food Sanitation Act and Co-principal in Inciting an Aggravated Assault. Here are the facts that came out of the trial for each charge:
For the charge of Violation of the Act on the Punishment of Prostitution (Prostitution Mediation etc.), Seungri was accused of mediating prostitution services on at least 20 occasions between September 2015 and January 2016 for foreign investors at a Christmas Party and at a club called Club Arena. Due to lack of material evidence supporting the charge, the prosecution heavily relied on witness testimonies and a total of 32 witnesses were summoned for all the charges. For prostitution mediation, Seungri’s long-term friends Kim In-Cheol and Mr. Park testified that it was Yoo In-seok (Seungri’s business partner), and not Seungri, that ordered them to arrange prostitution services. Female sex workers also testified that they had never heard any mention of Seungri in connection with prostitution. Lastly, Madam A, the pimp who had arranged prostitution services for Yoo In-seok, stated that she did not do business with Seungri.
For the Violation of the Act on the Punishment of Prostitution (Prostitution) charge where Seungri was accused of purchasing prostitution services for himself, Madam A testified that Yoo In-seok had instructed her to send a prostitute to Seungri’s house without informing him that the woman was a prostitute. The prostitute herself testified that she had sex with Seungri but that it was possible that he did not know that she was a prostitute. She also stated that the service was paid for by a third-party and not Seungri himself. Kim In-cheol also testified that Seungri had never ordered prostitution services.
For the Habitual Gambling charge, the prosecution claimed that Seungri had gambled in Las Vegas on eight occasions between 2013 and 2017. Although Seungri admitted to simple gambling, he denied that it was habitual due to the number of times he gambled and the fact that his trips to Las Vegas were for work purposes. For the charge of Violation of Foreign Exchange Transaction Act, Seungri was accused of violating the act by exchanging 1.1 billion South Korean won into US currency, which he admitted to.
There were two charges related to embezzlement, the first was Violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment etc. of Specific Economic Crimes. For this charge, Seungri was accused of embezzling 530 million won for consulting and brand usage fees for Monkey Museum, a lounge bar which he owned in 2016. He denied the charge and two witnesses testified that Seungri did not call for the execution of funds and that he was not involved with management. The defence also denied any motive for embezzlement. For the second embezzlement charge, Embezzlement under Business/Occupation, Seungri was suspected of embezzling 22 million won worth of funds from his business Yuri Holdings to cover legal fees for two employees. He denied this charge and the defence argued that this did not constitute embezzlement since the funds were used in the interest of protecting the company’s image.
For the charge of Violation of the Act on Special Cases concerning the Punishment etc. of Sexual Crimes, the prosecution argued that Seungri shared a photo without consent in a group chat room which showed three women with exposed backs. Seungri admitted to sharing the photo but denied taking it himself and clarified that it was taken with consent. The defence denied the charge and also added that the photo was an advertisement for a bar in Singapore. For the charge of Violation of Food Sanitation Act, the prosecution argued that Seungri operated an unauthorised establishment, which the defence denied and argued that the matter was resolved soon after opening.
In the seventh hearing, in January 2021, the prosecution added a ninth charge: Co-conspirator in Special Assault Instigation. They argued that Seungri had conspired with Yoo In-seok to mobilise gangsters to assault two male victims due to a dispute at a street bar in December 2015. The first victim testified that the dispute occurred when he had drunkenly entered Seungri’s private room and threatened to beat up Seungri. However, this subsided quickly and no violence occurred. The victim also denied that he was assaulted and said he did not want Seungri to be punished. The second victim testified that he was surrounded by a group of men in an alleyway but that no physical attacks occurred. He denied any knowledge of Seungri being involved in the incident. The defence denied the charge and argued that the group of men whom the prosecution referred to as “gangsters” were not actually gangsters, but one of the men was a bar owner and another was a bodyguard. Near the end of the trial, the prosecution admitted that there was no evidence for the charge and decided to change it to Co-principal in Inciting an Aggravated Assault.
Multiple witnesses had testified to feeling pressured by police and prosecutors to paint Seungri as guilty during the investigation phase. Some stated that contrary to the facts, they caved to the pressure so that the investigation would end. However, they reversed their statements during the trial. Seungri himself had also testified that the police were determined to arrest him regardless of evidence. Despite the fact that witnesses denied Seungri’s involvement in most of the charges during trial, the judge declared Seungri guilty on all nine charges and sentenced him to three years in prison in August 2021. This was reduced to one year and six months on appeal at a higher court in January 2022 where media reported that Seungri had acknowledged all the charges. The higher court’s decision was later upheld by the Supreme Court in May 2022, where Seungri’s side had appealed for the habitual gambling charge to be changed to simple gambling but the appeal was rejected.
As Seungri has served his full sentence and is now free, speculations are rife on what his next move will be. Some even speculate that he will return to the entertainment industry sometime in the future.
