The ex-member of Big Bang, who retired from entertainment business after his Burning Sun scandal, has also been indicted on habitual gambling and financial violation charges.
- Feb 1, 2020
AceShowbiz - Seungri, a singer in K-pop band Big Bang, has been indicted on charges of organising prostitution, habitual gambling and financial crimes.
The star, real name Lee Seung-hyun, 29, avoided spending time on remand at a hearing at Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on Thursday, January 30, after being charged with organising prostitution, habitual gambling, and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.
Seungri's involvement was as part-owner and public relations liaison of a nightclub in Seoul's exclusive Gangnam district.
The charges come a year after a string of women alleged they were drugged and served to men at clubs in South Korea. When he was first linked to the crimes, Seungri left the entertainment business.
"It would be better for me to retire from the entertainment business at this point," he said in a statement posted on his Instagram account in March 2019. "As for the ongoing probe, I will take the investigation seriously to clear all allegations."
He added he was concerned he would cause "further damage to people around me," and he would be "criticized by the public and being treated as a nation's enemy during the investigation."
Seungri has denied all allegations.
The indictment is the most recent event in the Burning Sun scandal, which revealed the scale of a sexual abuse scandal in the Gangnam district.
More than 350 people were arrested in the operation.
Several other K-pop stars have been embroiled in the scandal, with singer-songwriter Jung Joon Young admitting to filming himself having sex and sharing the footage without his partners' consent. He was sentenced to six years in prison.
