On March 9, it was reported thatSeungri has officially been considered a suspect in the Burning Sun scandal. The women, alleged prostitutes, were to be acquired for Seungris foreigner Investor B. All I saw on that phone was a list of phone numbers, and I havent contacted Jung Joon Young on a personal level in a very long time. March 29: The Ilyo Shinmun reportedthat police obtained testimony from a close acquaintance of Seungri in two sessions on March 25 and 28. Kim Sang Kyos mother witnessed this beating and tried to stop it by filming the police brutality. According to SBSs report, the reality was much different. A Blue House petition seeking to extend the investigation reached 687,767 signatures. The detective was working on the Burning Sun scandal in 2019 at the time of his death. An arrest warrant for Burning Sun CEO Lee Moon Ho was rejected. By this point, 40 people have been booked on charges of drug use and distribution. The bathroom lights in the video were the same as the ones in the VIP room bathroom at Burning Sun. YG Entertainment the Big 3 K-pop company where Seungri was signed released a statement claiming the chatroom messages were fabricated. SBS funEs Kang Kyung-yoon, who reported the story, responded that there would be no reason for her to fabricate the texts. Lee Chul Woos agency stated he was not a member of the chatroom and had not filmed or distributed illegal videos. On January 28, MBCs News Desk revealed CCTV footageof Kim Sang Kyos attack. Dispatch reported that the chats where Seungri allegedly talks about soliciting prostitution were held in this same chatroom. March 28: Seungri booked by police for distributing secretly obtained obscene photography with group chat. On March 13, Bang Jung Hyun, the lawyer who first reported Jung Joon Youngs chatroom data to the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commission, revealed that the chatroom contained content that gave rise to suspicions about close ties with the police. After the ambulance left, Kim Sang Kyos injuries became worse. Junwon is a shareholder of Burning Sun Entertainment and previously managed the Le Mridien Seoul hotel, where Burning Sun was located. If you wanted a rare bottle of champagne. April 11: Roy Kim, Eddy Kim, and Choi admitted to spreading illegally taken photos, and Choi also admitted to illegally filming footage. More than what I can say now, I will participate in the investigations truthfully. In it,the company expressed an apology on Jonghyuns behalf and on their own behalf for making prior statements without all of the facts. It was reportedthat Jeong Jinwoon of 2AM, Kangin of Super Junior, and model Lee Chulwoo were the three other celebrities involved. It seriously hurts, so uncuff me.. Channel A Newsrevealed silhouettes of the alleged celebrities around the same time thatSBS News released their report on Jung Joon Youngs involvement in the chatroom. The allegations of sex crimes involved added to the . According to both employees, theclub did not conduct any bag searches on the VIP customers and it was impossible to know what was going on inside the rooms. As he tells it, he initially joined the club as a DJ, then was promoted to publicity director. - Arrest warrant with . Some of the women are booked on prostitution charges, while other for prostitution mediation. SMPA booked17 women on prostitution-related charges that are reportedly tied to the allegations that Seungri mediated sexual services for Japanese investors. SBSs 8 OClock News questioned the veracity of Yoo In Suks written apology. FollowingJung Joon Youngs admission to guilt, MAKEUS Entertainment,terminated his exclusive contract with them. In it, one of the directors orchestrates a home run. If you havent had them on, dont say anything. increased calls to reinvestigate sexual abuse cases. Kim Sang Kyo also shared the story of a woman who claims to be a victim of a Burning Sun employee. He apologized to his victims, and to everyone who had supported him and made him a public figure. They also investigated bank account records of those involved, and reportedly found no evidence of bribery nor connections to Superintendent Yoon or others being investigated in relation to police corruption. The exchange suggests that Jung Joon Young was waiting for CEO Yoo to send prostitutes over to his place. He claimed to have a low level of involvement with the clubs management. In 2018, tens of thousands of women protested illicit hidden-camera footage under the banner of My Life Is Not Your Porn. Filming women (or men) without their consent is such a serious issue in Korea that you cannot buy a cell phone that doesnt make a shutter sound when you take a photo, Saeji said. [Kim Sang Kyo] kept following me until he suddenly grabbed me from behind, near my waist. I told Jung Joon Young to stop doing things like [taking hidden camera videos], he could get in big trouble. MBN revealed more details about the eight members of the Burning Sun chatroom: Seungri, Jung Joon-young, Choi Jonghoon, Yoo In Suk, club employee Mr. Kim, a relative of a girl group member, a former YG employee and a friend of Jung. Meanwhile, Jeongs agency was reportedly unable to respondon behalf of the star as he is currently fulfilling his mandatory service in South Koreas military. The promise of such vast sums of money can act as a magnet for some who would do anything to make still more. Podcasts-a-plenty for the end of year break, a new beat for world politics. Stocks of South Korean entertainment firms plummeted after the scandal broke, with five major K-pop firms losing nearly 18% of their value in the weeks after the news. The woman, an apparent acquaintance of Jung since 2012, came forward with suspicions of sexual assault after being made aware of the chatrooms. The K-Pop sex and drugs scandal sweeping South Korea, police and prosecution failed to properly investigate her death. At the Burning Sun club, the most elite guests were deemed "VVIPs." These VVIPs were entitled to an array of services by club staff, including obtaining women for sexual purposes. I admit to all my crimes, he wrote, according to a translation by Soompi. The two parties ended up settling the matter, and no charges were filed. Cho Nam-joos novel Kim Ji-young, Born in 1982, about the domestic misery and mistreatment of a young woman, has reportedly sold one copy for every 50 South Korean citizens. When they arrived at the police station,Kim Sang Kyo was beaten again outside of the building. We were on our way out after drinking 3 bottles of champagne, when a woman jumped out from a table on my right and hid behind me, while grabbing onto my left shoulder. He later made an apology to fans as well. Following Kim Sang Kyos assaults, a special task force was assembled to uncover the truth behind the incident, as well as other scandals surrounding the Burning Sun. Some messages allegedly discussed raping women at the club. The Korea Herald reportedthat the Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant for Kangs arrest over suspicions that he underreported sales at the club and inflated salaries of employees from 2014 to 2017 as a way to avoid paying taxes. Reporter Oh Hyuk Jin was one of the first to break the news regarding all of the corruption and illegal activities that happened around Burning Sun. Yong enlisted in South Koreas military to fulfill the countrys mandatory draft service. On March 15, Seungri and Jung Joon Young completed their respective 16-hour and 21-hour investigations and returned home. According to MBC, Seungri also reportedly tried to destroy evidence of the group chats illegal video/photo sharing. When the video was first released, the employees also said that it was the VIP room restroom but it seemed like they werent too concerned about the released video.. When Kim Sang Kyo was finally allowed a transfer to another police station, he hurled an insult at the Yeoksam Station policemen, for causing him so much pain. The agency stated that the messages from singer Yong shown onSBSsNews 8program as part of the report were from one-on-one conversations between Junhyung andJung Joon Youngfrom 2016. The lawyer who acted on behalf of the whistleblower told a CBS Radio show that the chatroom suggested ties to the police. So far,police have no plans to investigate Kangin, Jung Jinwoon, or Lee Chul Woo. President Moon Jae-in has weighed in, saying: The common factor is that [the cases concern] developments that took place among the privileged, and there is circumstantial evidence suggesting that the prosecutors and police purposely conducted incomplete investigations, and actively prevented the truth from being revealed. The same day, Channel A reported a second instance of alleged group sexual assault that Choi and Jung were involved in, along with a Burning Sun employee and two others in January 2016. The Korea Herald reportedthat the chief of the investigation team and an investigator initially involved in the case were transferred to different units. The phone that I mentioned on the show had nothing to do with this unfortunate case. I treated it as something that is not a big deal, without thinking that it was a crime and an illegal act. On the same day that the press conference took place, Reporter Kang Kyung Yoon revealed a new chat log that showcased Seungris direct knowledge of the polices involvement in turning a blind eye to wrongdoings, such as the DUI. He also revealed that he cant stop digging farther into the scandal because its more f*cked up and dirtier than [he] had imagined., A post shared by +I (@arkham_er) on Mar 3, 2019 at 8:03am PST. Seungri also explained why he became invested in a club in the first place, and talked about how his position differs from management. The police investigated the claims and found no discrepancies in the initial reporting of the incident internally among police forces, stating that all procedures and reports were followed as per proper police conduct when dealing with a celebrity incident. In 2018, the band BTS scored two chart-topping albums in the U.S. On March 12, SBSs 8 OClock Newsreported that on April 17, 2016, Mr. Kim uploaded a video of himself engaging in sexual relations to the group chat. While the full scope is still emerging, Burning Sun already appears to be K-pops Altamont: the moment when a subcultures aura of innocence was shattered. This is a whole other beast, since its not about one mans bad temper or sexual assault, but almost an industrialized state of things where many powerful men were enabled and bolstered up by their status to partake in illegal activities.. It was also revealed that the same police officer who booked Choi Jonghoon for drunk driving gave him a call later that night, congratulating him on his birthday. But in recent months a scandal dogging the Burning Sun nightclub in Seoul, which Seungri sat on the . He wrote that he would not be framed of suicide or be killed, which made many netizens suspect that he has received death threats for his refusal to stop digging more into the story. When Kim was being beaten by a group of Burning Sun employees outside, the man could be seen exiting through the VIP exit and slipping away in his car after briefly watching over the beating. We take this work extremely seriously and are committed to evaluating each case sensitively and fairly. A few of the industrys biggest names are involved, but the allegations span sexual assault, prostitution, drug distribution, hidden camera footage, tax evasion and police corruption. He admitted to all charges earlier in the day, and he could receive a sentence of up to seven years and six months. I have acted in a way that is unsuitable for a public figure, he said. For the duration of 10 months starting in late 2015, Jung Joon Young shared hidden footage with celebrities as well as non-famous participants, and 10 victims were confirmed at the time this report was made. Students at the Washington D.C.-area college reportedly began a petition to get the star suspended or potentially expelled,due to the disgusting and illegal nature of these allegations. Upon reaching out for a statement, Georgetowns media relations team told Billboard that, Georgetown refrains from commenting on individual students in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The representative then offered this statement: Georgetown is committed to making sure that reported cases of sexual misconduct are investigated and responded to promptly and thoroughly. In terms of the problems that arose, they said, Its done, or Its covered up, and one person even said, I received a message from a police congratulating my birthday. I cannot speak conclusively. Seungris music in Big Bang was rooted in hip-hop, buffed to a glossy electronic sheen. Now two decade-old cases resurfaced, one involving ex-vice justice minister Kim Hak-eui, and another centering on the death of actress Jang Ja-yeon. I responded, Why do you keep cursing at me? Some of these videos and pictures were sent in the chatroom with Seungri and other celebrities. This scandal demonstrates how women are being treated as objects in Korean society, said CedarBough Saeji, a postdoctoral fellow in Korean studies at University of British Columbia and a scholar of contemporary Korean culture. On January 1, 2016, Jung Joon Young suggested meeting in an online game, going to a strip bar, and raping a woman in a car, to which Mr. Park said, Were already doing that in real life. He also added, Its like were living in a movie. The Intellectual Crime Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it found no evidence that Chois 2016 drunk driving incident was intentionally covered upand kept secret from the media despite Chois previous admission of attempted bribery. Choi Jonghoon: I told him (the police officer) I would give him 10 million won before I got handcuffed. Results from his urine and hair tests clearly proved that everything was normal. April 26: Park arrested over suspected purchasing and usage of methamphetamine. At the time of the report, Jung Joon Youngs agency stated that he was currently in the United States and that he would address the allegations when he returned to Korea. Its ridiculous to say drugs were used inside the club. Another employee spoke up about a sexual assault video that was allegedly taken inside the VIP restroom. Police announced reinvestigation into allegations that 14 VIP patrons at a Gangnam club illegally filmed and shared sexual videos and photos without the consent of women in two KakaoTalk group chat rooms between 2014 and 2015. The acquaintance was reportedly in charge of coordinating and managing the women suspected of prostitution at Seungris birthday in the Philippines. An officer allegedly requested the forensics team to claim they couldnt restore the singers phone, which was key evidence. A post shared by @seungriseyo on Feb 2, 2019 at 6:45am PST. All of these actions were extremely immoral, and I was very foolish. A post shared by @seungriseyo on Mar 11, 2019 at 1:39am PDT. The Interpreter features in-depth analysis & expert commentary on the latest international events, published daily by the Lowy Institute, Copyright 2023 Around the same time that Seungri made this confession, he continued to deny claims that he had solicited prostitutes for investors. Park held press conference to deny allegations of drug usage. Its blood because you people assaulted me.. Seungridenied his knowledge of the prostitution mediation. The management accused Mr. Kim of attempting to harass women. MBCs Newsdesk reported that another Burning Sun staffer illegally filmed a sexual assault. It is a groundless rumor.. Seungri of Big Bang attends a news conference after Chinese internet giant Tencent and Sony Music Entertainment signing distribution partnership on Jan. 31, 2018 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. The Chosun Ilboreported Seungris alleged procurement of prostitution began earlier than previously known, potentially as early as December 2015. Others did it too. It really disturbs me that some of the women spoken about in the chats between Seungri, [TV star and guitarist] Jung Joon-young and others may have been fans discarded and demeaned by the men they adored.. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, some of these celebrities had been called in as a part of their investigation. His decision to retire stemmed from the scandals that have surrounded him since the Burning Sun Assault case began. Published daily by the A second man, known by the surname Lim, was also arrested after being identified by Kang for serving as what the Korea Herald described as a puppet head of the club. Kang is suspected of having owned and operated several clubs this way. Yuri Holdings currently holds less, as half of the shares were allegedly given to Lin. Yong Junhyung has no connection to the filming or sharing of illegal videos and has never been in a chatroom where Jung Joon Youngs illegal camera videos were shared.. March 4: The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said they hadnt received records of the Burning Sun group chat from the SBS funE reporter. I contacted him/her. Are there no young and pretty and nice bitches? 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