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Burning Sun scandal

January 20, 2023

The Burning Sun scandal, also known as Burning Sun gate,[1][2] was a 2019 entertainment and sex scandal in Seoul, South Korea, which involved several celebrities, including Korean idols of popular K-pop groups, and police officials. It was the largest scandal to hit the K-pop industry. The allegations of sex crimes involved added to the country's "epidemic" of what is called molka, a Korean word for the online distribution of unconsented sex videos taken of women, and the scandal became fodder for political parties, who argued over how to handle it.[3][4][5]

Burning Sun scandal
Seungri, 2018 and Jung Joon-young, 2015
Main Korean idols involved in the Burning Sun scandal and Jung Joon-young KakaoTalk chatrooms
Native name 클럽 버닝썬
English nameClub Burning Sun
DateFebruary 23, 2018 – February 17, 2019 (2018-02-23 – 2019-02-17)
Duration11 months – closed during investigation
VenueBurning Sun nightclub inside Le Méridien Hotel
Location120 Bongeunsa-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06124, South Korea
Also known asBurning Sun gate
TypeEntertainment and sex scandal
First reporterKim Sang-kyo
Participants
  • Burning Sun co-CEO Lee Sung-hyun (11)
  • Burning Sun co-CEO Lee Moon-ho (9, 11)
  • Seungri (1-7)
  • Yuri Holdings CEO Yoo In-seok (1, 4, 6)
  • Yang Hyun-suk (1, 2, 3)
  • Former Gangnam police officer Kang (12)
  • Senior SMPA police official Yoon Gyu-geun (12, 13)
  • Burning Sun investor Madam Lin (6)
  • Cheonwon Industries CEO Choi Tae-young (6)
  • Club Arena owner Kang (8)
  • Club Arena owner Lin (8)
  • Clubgoer and first reporter Kim Sang-kyo (14)
  • Burning Sun MD Cho (9, 10)
  • Additional Burning Sun participants (1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10)
  • Other entertainment venue participants (7, 9, 10, 14)
Charges
  • 1 mediating or purchasing prostitution
  • 2 habitual or overseas gambling
  • 3 illegal currency transactions
  • 4 business operations violations
  • 5 instigating violence
  • 6 embezzlement
  • 7 taking or sharing illegal images
  • 8 tax evasion
  • 9 habitual drug use
  • 10 drug smuggling and distribution
  • 11 bribing police officials
  • 12 accepting bribes (police officials)
  • 13 misuse of power (police officials)
  • 14 sexual assault or rape

It began on January 28, 2019, when MBC Newsdesk reported a November 2018 alleged assault of a male clubgoer at the Burning Sun, a prominent nightclub in Gangnam, by a staff member.[6][7][8] The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency investigation soon turned to one concerning the club's alleged involvement in prostitution, drug trafficking and police corruption.[9] Seungri of the band Big Bang, one of the club's directors,[10] subsequently resigned from the entertainment industry on March 11, 2019, after being charged with sexual bribery.[11][12]

The scandal quickly encompassed allegations of rape and spy cams when singer and entertainer Jung Joon-young confessed to secretly filming himself having sex with women and sharing the videos, without their knowledge or consent, in the Jung Joon-young KakaoTalk chatrooms, and he resigned from the entertainment industry on March 12, 2019. While looking into the Burning Sun scandal, SBS funE had discovered videos dated from 2015 to 2016, as well as conversations he shared in chat groups on the social media app KakaoTalk with Seungri, and acquaintances.[13][14] The chatroom exposé immediately affected a few celebrities, and more as the case developed. On March 14, Yong Jun-hyung of Highlight and Choi Jong-hoon of F.T. Island resigned from their positions, after allegations they were participants in the chatrooms,[15][16] and the agency for Lee Jong-hyun of CNBLUE admitted his involvement on March 15.[17]

On International Women's Day, March 8, 2019, the scandal led to a street protest in Gangnam against the Burning Sun and other nightclubs, calling for an end to what the protesters called a culture that treats women as sexual objects.[18][19] Although thousands of women had rallied in 2018 against illicit filming and sharing, the allegations against the idealized image of pop idols still surprised the public.[20] The serious nature of the scandal prompted a response from President Moon Jae-in, who ordered a thorough investigation.[3][21][22]

Legal proceedings for criminal investigations generated by the scandal continued into 2021. Although several police officers were disciplined for their actions involving the Burning Sun club, the two highest profile cases resulted in trial acquittals. Burning Sun's co-CEO, Lee Sung-hyun, testified that he had paid a former police officer Kang to cover for an underage clubgoer incident, but Kang's one-year prison sentence was overturned for lack of evidence that he had received the money. Also, a well publicized case involved a senior police official, Yoon Gyu-geun, who was arrested for allegations of bribery and mediating favors for the Burning Sun club, and others, which ended with an innocent verdict at his first trial. Among other verdicts, Burning Sun's co-CEO, Lee Moon-ho, was sentenced to a year in prison for habitual drug use, including ecstasy and ketamine in Gangnam clubs, and one of the club's promoters, MD Cho, four years and six months for drug use and smuggling. Due to public interest in the scandal, police conducted drug sweeps at entertainment venues that yielded hundreds of drug related arrests, a large percentage involving ecstasy and GHB, a common date rape drug; along with cases of sexual assault and rape, and the filming of illegal videos during drug use.

Seungri's business associate, Yoo In-seok, admitted to providing their potential Japanese investors with prostitutes and received a suspended sentence of three years probation for that and an embezzlement charge. Seungri's entertainment agency head, Yang Hyun-suk, admitted to gambling and illegal money transactions in Las Vegas casinos and was sentenced to paying a fine at trial, along with three YG and YGX associates. Seungri's case concluded in January 2022, in a military appeals court, with a reduced prison sentence of one year and a half and a fine. The nine charges included habitual gambling overseas and illegal money transactions, prostitution mediation and purchase, violence instigation, violation of the Specific Economic Crimes Act, embezzlement, sharing illicit photos, and a business operations violation.

Background

Burning Sun nightclub

 
Closed entrance of Club Burning Sun, Le Méridien Hotel, Gangnam. March 27, 2019.

The Burning Sun nightclub, (Hangul: 클럽 버닝썬, Club Burning Sun),[23] opened at the Le Méridien Seoul hotel in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, on February 23, 2018,[24] and closed during the investigation of the scandal on February 17, 2019.[25] The upscale hotel had just replaced the Ritz Carlton Hotel and opened in September 2017, months before the Burning Sun's opening.[26] The nightclub was often called "Seungri's Club", due to its affiliation with K-pop idol Seungri of Big Bang.[27]

The Burning Sun advertised itself as, “the most elegant and finest club in South Korea".[24] It included a basement level for EDM, a second level for hip hop, VIP admittance, 60 VIP tables near the DJ box and stage, spacious dance floors and accommodation for 1000 guests. The drink menu listed Armand de Brignac champagne and Louis XIII cognac sets, priced in the thousands of dollars.[24][28][29] The sound system was set up by Funktion-One, a specialized overseas company, whose sound expert, Tony Andrews, was invited to the club for sound tuning. Seungri served as one of the DJs, along with other local and visiting guest artists like R3hab.[28][30]

The club's CEOs were Lee Moon-ho and Lee Sung-hyun, a former board member of the company that operated the Le Méridien Seoul hotel.[31][32] Seungri was one of seven in-house directors, and resigned from his position in January 2019.[33] Seungri was the co-founder of Yuri Holdings, a shareholder of Burning Sun Entertainment that operated the club.[34] which owned as much as 20 percent in shares,[35] and which was established in March 2016, with Yoo In-seok, to manage his restaurant and entertainment businesses.[36] Seungri resigned from his position in mid February[32] and Yoo resigned on March 13.[37] Seungri described his relationship to the club in an interview with The Chosun Ilbo, published on March 22, 2019, saying that CEO Lee Moon-ho, a friend of his, was the operator of the club and in charge, while Seungri's name was used for marketing, after his initial investment of 10 million won (around US$8,800).[38] In the interview, Seungri said the breakdown of Burning Sun's shares were as follows: owners of Le Méridien Seoul, 42 percent; Lee Sung-hyun (CEO of Le Méridien Seoul), 8 percent; Yuri Holdings, 20 percent, Madam Lin (Taiwanese investor), 20 percent; and Lee Moon-ho, 10 percent.[30]

Other clubs

Monkey Museum was the first Gangnam club to associate Seungri's name, and opened on July 27, 2016, in the upscale neighborhood of Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu. It was a trendy hip hop lounge-style bar,[39][40] co-owned by Seungri, Yoo and a group of K-pop singers.[41] During the scandal's investigation, it became one of the first non-relevant charges against Seungri, of illegal operation as a bar, while it was registered as a restaurant;[42] and later involved allegations of embezzlement of funds by Seungri and Yoo.[41]

Arena (or Club Arena) was a dance club that opened in 2014 in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu. It was known as a TV and sports celebrity hang-out, had a reputation for a very strict dress code, and could accommodate 700 guests with separate EDM and hip hop dance floors.[43] It was another club Seungri was affiliated with, and where he was alleged to have made arrangements for investors to receive sexual favors.[44] The owner, last name Kang, and another of the club's operators, were arrested on tax evasion charges during the scandal's investigation.[45]

Seungri's background as a businessman

The club's scandal was heightened in the media, exacerbated by Seungri's wide popularity and his possible business connections to it.[46] He had developed a second career in business,[47][48] and the nightclub business was not his first business venture, having been preceded by several others: a Japanese ramen restaurant chain, cosmetics, a Belgian waffle cafe, and a record company co-founded with his agency YG Entertainment.[49][47] He invested in biotechnology and nanotechnology and the development of masks for yellow dust protection,[50] and failed at real estate and electronic businesses.[49] He closed his successful vocal and dance academy, the Joy Dance – Plug In Music Academy, which he first opened in 2011, in his home town of Gwangju, with branches around South Korea,[47][48] after some parents complained about an "overly friendly" teacher-student relationship at one location.[51] In November 2018, he entered the IT sector when he became the Creative Director and model for HeadRock VR, a franchise brand of the AR product company SocialNetwork and affiliate Mediafront; and assisted in the opening of the Headrock VR theme park in Singapore.[52][53][54]

The multilingual Seungri – who has multiple business interests – was popularly seen as an “ideal cultural export”.

— Lee Moon-won, popular culture critic, in the South China Morning Post.

Seungri who used a stage name that means "victory" in Korean, his real name is Lee Seung-hyun,[55][56] at the age of 28, was the youngest member of Big Bang;[57][58] having debuted at age 15.[59] Just before the scandal broke, he released his first solo Korean language studio album in July 2018, and was conducting his first solo tour, The Great Seungri, after 13 years as a group member.[60][61] He was filling the void for the band's hiatus while all remaining four members were in military service,[57] and waiting for his own enlistment in March.[62]

Jessica Oak at Billboard wrote, "Seungri has forged and built an empire all his own during his 13 years in the industry. The superstar has become known as a thriving entrepreneur with business ventures in food, nightlife and music labels".[61] He had been the subject of a popular TV show on SBS, about his life and businesses, filmed "speaking four languages and throwing lavish parties in luxury resorts."[63] In August 2018, Baik Su-jin, a journalist at The Chosun Ilbo, described his story, among other rich celebrities, as a "rags-to-riches" story, adding that Seungri was a late bloomer in the spotlight, only coming into his own after the other Big Bang members were absent. Seungri said, "I had a tough time outshining other members of the group, so I studied foreign languages."[63] He said he had tried to succeed at business, in part, because he felt "overlooked and underappreciated" by fans, being the youngest of the famous group, and business was a place where he would not have to compete with the other band members. Seungri said his popularity had been a business asset and he had looked for partners that would benefit from it."[49]

His last studio album The Great Seungri was a play on his nickname, from the novel The Great Gatsby.[55][64] After his involvement in the scandal, a popular culture critic in Seoul, Lee Moon-won, said "the multilingual Seungri", with "has multiple business interests" had been seen as an “ideal cultural export”, deemed to be a hard-worker by his fans. Lee pointed out the irony of Seungri's having been found to be thoroughly comparable to The Great Gatsby protagonist, not only for his good looks, business acumen, and lavish parties, but because both had sought "illicit and corrupt activities to gain fame and wealth."[65]

Seungri's friends and scandal participants

Seungri was close to celebrity friends Jung Joon-young, age 30, and Choi Jong-hoon, age 29, who joined him when his agency YG Entertainment launched their newest YG Republique restaurant in August 2017, in Kuala Lumpur.[66][67] Jung, a singer-songwriter and television celebrity, and the key person in the illicit sex video portion of the scandal,[68] had been a friend of Seungri for several years. In 2015, he showed off their relationship by telephoning Seungri for a chat during a live radio broadcast.[69] In August 2018, Seungri joined him on the travel show Salty Tour, where Jung was a main cast member, and made comments that generated disciplinary actions by the Korea Communications Standards Commission due to their gender insensitivity or potential "sexual harassment". During a broadcast episode on a trip to Xiamen, China, Seungri asked a female guest to pick a favorite amongst the five male cast members and pour them a drink; which viewers complained about.[70]

Development

2019: Scandal begins and cases develop

 
Le Meridien Hotel, Gangnam, location of Club Burning Sun.

January 28, Kim Sang-kyo assault at Burning Sun reported

The first public awareness of the Burning Sun scandal was on January 28, 2019, when MBC Newsdesk reported on an alleged assault of a 29-year-old clubgoer, Kim Sang-kyo, at the Burning Sun nightclub.[32] Kim said he was attempting to help a woman who was being sexually harassed, but staff had assaulted him.[57] When the Yeoksam police arrived, he was arrested as the assailant and booked on seven charges, including criminal battery, an indecent act, defamation and the obstruction of the performance of official duties. He said the police assaulted him after he was placed under arrest.[57][71] The incident occurred on November 24, 2018, but came to media attention in January 2019, after Kim posted a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website detailing his assault by Burning Sun staffers and mistreatment by police; and further stating that female customers were drugged by staffers and the club had a corrupt relationship with district police.[25] Another current petition on the website called for the investigation of the club scene, in general, and druggings occurring there.[71] Cheong Wa Dae is a petition website based on former President Obama's We the People, and which was launched in August 2017, on President Moon's 100th day in office. Kim's petition had received the benchmark 200,000 signatures prompting an official response.[57][71][72]

Initial allegations at Burning Sun

During the early stages, the scandal evolved around Kim's complaint against the Burning Sun nightclub, including any possible crimes that may have occurred there, and the identities of responsible parties. The initial January 28 report of the Kim incident, by MBC Newsdesk, included two CCTV videos of the club's security footage purportedly showing Kim's assault inside the club, and a second one showing a woman being dragged down a hallway,[73] and alleged to have been drugged.[74] A KBS report soon added that an alleged former employee had talked about illegal drug use in the club's VIP rooms.[74] An additional report by MBC, on February 14, included allegations of a purported VIP client of the club, who said staff solicited him in text messages, offering women who were available for sex, after readying them with date rape drugs. He claimed to have received a video clip from staff, showing "an intoxicated woman being raped".[75]

By January 31, 2019, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) had taken charge of the investigation, which included allegations of local Gangnam police corruption and collusion with the club's owners, and had assigned a team to look into the club's allegations of sexual violence, drug use, Kim's arrest and any connection with the local police station.[74] The SMPA said their quick response and follow-up investigation was due to media attention garnered by the Big Bang K-pop group member Seungri's affiliation with the club. They also said they had expanded their probe of drug-related allegations to all Gangnam clubs, due to club marketing by independent "merchandisers" or "MDs" for many different clubs.[46]

Seungri's involvement and his relationship to the nightclub immediately became a hot media issue.[74] Yang Hyun-suk the chief of his agency, YG Entertainment, released a statement on January 31, that Seungri had been at the club on November 28, but left before Kim's incident occurred. He also said Seungri's recent resignation as a senior director of the club was due to his upcoming military enlistment.[74] Seungri's delayed response to the controversy was in an Instagram statement on February 2, stating that he was not present at the club during Kim's alleged assault, had belatedly heard about it, and served as an executive director for the club and had no part in the club's operation or management; but he, however, apologized that he had not taken responsibility from the beginning.[10]

February 26, first KakaoTalk messages revealed

On February 26, 2019, SBS FunE released the first portions of the KakaoTalk recordings that would become crucial in the investigation, saying their origin was an anonymous source which had turned them over to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on February 22. The recordings dated back to 2015, and seemed to implicate Seungri with allegations that he had directed Burning Sun staff to arrange prostitutes for foreign investors who were coming to Seoul, at another Gangnam nightclub. The source had cited possible police collusion as the reason for not turning them over directly to police. The police held a press conference on March 4, saying they had not seen the original, unedited KakaoTalk messages and doubted their veracity, just prior to an SBS report detailing how they had obtained them.[76]

On February 27, Seungri was questioned by the SMPA, a lengthy interview that lasted overnight and included a drug test. Seungri denied allegations of attempts to buy sex for potential foreign investors (or sex for business favors) and any knowledge of the KakaoTalk messages, which had been disclosed by media, conversations he allegedly had with a Burning Sun co-founder and another of its employees about such arrangements; and he denied drug use. Media reports said that various nightclubs were used for the lobbying,[77] including one named Arena, where Seungri allegedly arranged sexual favors for investors.[56] In one alleged chat conversation between Seungri and his business partners in December 2015, Seungri says, "Give B (the anonymous investor) everything she wants. Get a hold of the main [rooms] 3 and 4 at the [club] Arena. We have guests from Taiwan". After confirming arrangements with a man surnamed Kim, Seungri asked, "“And what about the girls? [Give them] the easy girls.” Yoo answered, “I’m getting the prostitutes ready, so if you get two prostitutes, then lead them to the hotel rooms. Two is good?”[78]

Seungri booked

On March 10, Seungri was booked on sex bribery charges.[79] The following day, he resigned from entertainment on his Instagram account, stating that he had caused a "societal disturbance" and said he would cooperate with the investigation.[11]

March 11, Jung Joon-young KakaoTalk chatrooms and source revealed

 
Choi Jong-hoon, 2012
 
Eddy Kim, 2014
 
Yong Jun-hyung, 2017
 
Lee Jong-hyun, 2017
Other idols involved in the Jung Joon-young KakaoTalk chatrooms
Main article: Jung Joon-young KakaoTalk chatrooms

The source of the KakaoTalk messages was revealed to be a lawyer, Bang Jung-hyun, on March 11, when he was interviewed on SBS Eight O'Clock News.[80] He had obtained the messages from a whistleblower or "anonymous source", possibly a technician at a phone repair shop, where singer and entertainer Jung Joon-young had dropped his phone off for repairs.[57][81] The whistleblower had sent an email to Bang, of thousands of chats taken from Jung's phone, which took place over eight months between 2015 and 2016.[82] When the Burning Sun scandal started, the phone messages were forwarded to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and to SBS FunE; and the secretly filmed sex tapes and other chat messages on Jung's phone became public.[57][81] During the SBS interview, the integrity of the chat room file was discussed, and was said to have a tamper-proof device, technically a hash-code verification, showing that the file had not been manipulated; and could stand as circumstantial evidence to seek more evidence.[80] Bang, an economics graduate of Seoul National University, and a practicing lawyer,[83] said of the chats, "Their conversations showed that there were not only sex crimes by celebrities, but also a cozy relationship between them and top police officers," and "It is someone higher up than [the Gangnam Police Precinct chief]."[82]

 
Traffic on Bongeunsa-ro, Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam. Le Meridien Hotel, location of Club Burning Sun on left.

Also, on Monday, March 11, due to possible police involvement, the Commission, a watchdog agency, turned the records over to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea, asking them to investigate the scandal instead of the police.[82][84] Within a week, the case was transferred to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office who said they would assign a team to direct the SMPA's investigation.[85] Also, due to the new allegations of possible police misconduct, on March 14, Commissioner Min Gap-ryong of the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) reported to the Ministry of Public Safety and Security at the National Assembly, that "A total of 126 agents will be assigned to investigate the nightclub Burning Sun, the assault at Club Arena, drug use, ties with the police, and allegations of brokering prostitution, filming and distributing illegal videos, among other things".[35] President Moon ordered an investigation of the scandal on March 18, to include two past sex scandal cases; the first one involved a former vice justice minister, Kim Hak-ui, who was cleared of a scandal in 2013, but had new allegations of raping women and appearing in sex videos with them, and the second one was the 2009 suicide of rookie actress Jang Ja-yeon, whose purported suicide note included a list of men who she was forced to have sex with, by her entertainment agency. The handling of those cases had been criticized for nonimpartiality due to the involvement of high-profile figures.[3][21][22] He said, "The current leadership of the prosecution and police should stake the fate of their organizations with responsibility on uncovering the truth and becoming a law enforcement agency that can reveal its own shameful acts so as to regain trust," and "I am stressing that if we cannot fix it, we cannot call this society a just one."[21]

Ha Hyun-ock, a deputy financial news editor of the JoongAng Ilbo likened the burgeoning events to the Korean Mafia, with allegations of "drug dealing, prostitution, violence, tax evasion and collusion with police". He referred to the assessment Bang brought up on the SBS news program, of its being the beginning of a Korean Mafia, with K-pop's popularity creating celebrities of new money and status, who hobnob with business and government connections.[80][86]

Seungri's and Jung's inter-locking scandals were combined in public televised view when both were called into the SMPA station on March 14, with more than 100 journalists gathered for Jung's 10 a.m. appearance.[87] It consisted of his arrival, and apology, before entering the station for questioning and a drug test; followed similarly by Seungri, some three hours later. Police also questioned Seungri's business partner and Yuri Holdings CEO Yoo In-seok.[88] Seungri exited first, at around 6:15 a.m. on March 15, some 16 hours later, and he told reporters, as he exited, that he would be putting in a request to delay his mandatory military service later in the month. Jung exited, about an hour later, after his 21-hour interrogation.[89]

April 1 – end of year, Seungri's business partner admits to hiring prostitutes, and first arrest warrant fails

On April 1, SMPA announced they had booked Seungri and Yoo for allegations of embezzlement from the Monkey Museum club, which they opened in 2016.[41] Later allegations stated that funds from Yuri Holdings were used to pay attorney fees for a criminal case involving an employee of the club.[90] On April 29, a Chosun Ilbo headline, "Seung-ri's Business Partner Admits Pimping", followed Seungri and Yoo's new questioning by SMPA, in which Seungri continued to deny any involvement with prostitution, and Yoo finally admitted that he supplied prostitutes to six or more Japanese investors at their Gangnam nightclub in December 2015. SMPA had paper trails of money transactions, a YG Entertainment credit card payment by Seungri and a wire transfer by Yoo, and chat room conversations the two had with Jung about the arrangements;[91] and had booked 17 prostitutes and pimps related to the incidents.[92] Seungri was summoned for questioning about alleged embezzlement of the Burning Sun club's funds for the first time, on May 2, following sixteen prior interrogations about his alleged arrangement of sexual services for investors.[93][94]

 
MBC TV covering a Burning Sun protest rally, Le Méridien Hotel subway exit, Gangnam, May 25, 2019.

On May 7 SMPA requested arrest warrants, to include pre-trial detention, for Seungri and Yoo, and they appeared at May 14 hearings, on charges of embezzling company funds and arranging sexual services for foreign investors, along with a new charge that Seungri had paid for sexual services himself.[95][96][97] Seungri admitted that he received illicit sex services but denied all other allegations at the Seoul Central District Court hearing, and was led to a holding cell in ropes to await the decision, which came later in the evening, when both arrest warrants were denied, with the court citing "room for dispute" over the alleged embezzlement, and said the possibility of destroying evidence was slim.[97][98][99] SMPA referred Seungri's case to prosecutors on June 25, with charges related to 1.1 billion won (US$951,000) in embezzlement, destruction of evidence, violation of laws on sex trade, sexual crimes and food hygiene. Allegations included procuring prostitutes for himself and for others from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan from December 2015 to January 2016. His business partner Yoo was also referred to prosecutors for procuring prostitutes.[100]

MBC TV's May 27 show Straight introduced new allegations and another celebrity name to the scandal. It alleged that YG Entertainment's founder Yang Hyun-suk had arranged sexual services for foreign investors in July 2014, which he and the company denied.[101][102] SMPA began an investigation based on the show's details of an alleged dinner meeting in Gangnam and a trip to a nightclub NB, affiliated with Yang, that included Yang, age 50, a Malaysian fugitive Jho Low, age 38, a Thai national named Bob (Chavanos Rattakul), a YG singer, a Madam Jung, Hwang Ha-na; and as many as 10 prostitutes, who allegedly provided sexual services at the nightclub. Singer Psy, age 42, who was with YG Entertainment at the time, released a statement that he had introduced his friend Jho Low to Yang, and acknowledged that he and Yang had been invited to the dinner and drinks with Low and the other man but denied any involvement in the alleged activities.[102][103][104][105] Allegations also referenced a December 2018 rape complaint at the Burning Sun against Rattakul, one of the foreign investors also affiliated with Seungri, and who had been summoned by police.[105][106] In June, Yang was questioned by police about the prostitution allegations but not taken in as a suspect and Psy was questioned as a witness about the July 2014 incident, which statute of limitations was soon to expire.[107][108][109] On July 17, SMPA reported having booked Yang for allegations of arranging sexual services for the foreign investors in 2014, along with three more suspects for prostitution allegations;[110][111] but dropped the charges against Yang on September 20, stating that they had failed to prove them.[112][113]

A prior allegation of Seungri's possible gambling overseas was reignited by an August 9, JTBC report alleging instances of Yang and Seungri having gambled up to 1 to 2 billion won at the MGM Grand Las Vegas on past occasions. SMPA said they were examining Yang's financial records for possible illegal foreign exchange transactions that may have been used for his alleged gambling, which is illegal for South Koreans at home and abroad.[114][115] On August 14, both Yang and Seungri were booked on charges of habitual gambling,[116] and by August 20, charges included illegal foreign trade transactions and a travel ban had been imposed.[117] On August 28 and 29, both were questioned and Seungri admitted to gambling, but denied allegations of illegally securing funds, in violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.[118][119] Seungri was questioned again on September 24 and Yang on October 1.[120][121] On October 31, SMPA said they would be referring Yang and Seungri, along with three others, for prosecution of alleged habitual gambling, for a time period from the second half of 2014 to the present.[122]

In the first case with allegations of police collusion, a former Gangnam police officer surnamed Kang, age 44, was sentenced to one year in prison on August 14.[123] During the trial co-CEO Lee Sung-hyun testified that he paid 20 million won (US$17,000) to Kang to cover for an underage clubgoer incident at the Burning Sun and had not discussed the arrangements with Seungri.[124][125] In drug related cases, on August 22, co-CEO Lee Moon-ho received a suspended sentence of three years probation and community service for a year and a half prison term in a habitual drug use case where he pled guilty,[126][127] but at a second trial on November 28, was sentenced to one year in prison with charges of using more than 10 drugs, including ecstasy and ketamine in Gangnam clubs from 2018 through February 2019. The court said that Lee Moon-ho's position as the operator of the Burning Sun Club put him at a different level than an "ordinary drug offender" and his first sentencing had been "light and unfair".[124][128][129] A senior SMPA official, Yoon Gyu-geun, age 49, referred to as the "police chief" in the chatrooms, was arrested on October 10, on charges of accepting bribes and misuse of power, among others, following a search at his office in September.[130][131][132][133] Yoon was referred for prosecution in June for allegedly informing Seungri and Yoo In-seok of police crackdowns, but the late search and focus on Yoon was questioned by a The Korea Times report by Lee Suh-yoon as possibly being related to his having worked in the Blue House in 2017 under Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who was being investigated in a separate case.[100][134][135] A businessman named Jeong, a possible link between Yoon and Yoo was arrested earlier on embezzlement charges.[130] Yoon was indicted on October 29, on charges of bribery, obstruction of business, and concealing evidence, among others, related to allegations of attempting to cover up illegalities at the Burning Sun and other businesses run by Seungri and Yoo. Yoon was also alleged to have received unlisted stocks from businessman Jeong in relation to the case; while Jeong is suspected of being tied to illicit financial transactions in the separate case against ex-Justice Minister Cho.[136][137] A Burning Sun employee, an MD named Cho, age 28, one of the first investigated in the club's scandal, was sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment in early December for smuggling and administering drugs.[124][138][139]

Other investigations

SMPA announced on May 15 they had referred the original whistleblower of the club's scandal, Kim Sang-kyo, to the prosecution for indictment for sexually assaulting three women and obstructing the business.[97][140]

In early July, the government responded to an April 11 Cheong Wa Dae petition which had detailed new allegations at the Burning Sun club, which was followed by a report on MBC TV's Straight.[141][142][143] Witnesses interviewed on the program alleged "underage sex trafficking and violent sexual abuse of women", claiming VIP rooms at the club and offsite were set up for customers, including those from upperclass Korean families, and a special clean-up crew called the "incinerators" were employed to remove blood and incriminating evidence.[144][145] The petition which received the required signatures, asked for the investigation of an alleged group rape by six men in one of the VIP rooms, of a woman who had been given GHB, called "mulpong" in South Korea.[143] In late June, BBC News reporter Laura Bicker shared similar allegations of Gangnam's nightlife, "in its glitzy nightclubs, women have been drugged to order by powerful men and raped" and "underage girls are being sexually exploited for profit".[146] On July 9, KNPA Commissioner Min responded that the allegations of sexual abuse and drug use in the VIP rooms, per the petition, were not confirmed. He added, "I will humbly accept the public's criticism that the results of the investigation are insufficient in relation to the Burning Sun case".[141][142]

On July 17, SMPA held a preventive meeting at the Seodaemun-gu police offices to discuss a "Second Burning Sun Club Opening", after a KBS report detailed possible new problems of sexual harassment at a new club in the Gangnam area, opened by former employees of the Burning Sun club, just four months after it closed down.[147][148] Also, as part of an anti-corruption initiative established at the troubled Gangnam Police Station, SMPA announced an unprecedented open recruitment just for that police station in mid July, after 164 officers were transferred to other departments.[149][150] A newly formed three month joint response team was also set up to investigate club illegal activity in Gangnam, from August through October, to prevent a new Burning Sun incident.[151][152]

On September 10, SMPA's Cyber Security Division referred charges of defamation and pornography for twelve participants in an investigation of media personnel which began on May 3. A Cheong Wa Dae petition was filed, alleging that a chat group of about 200 reporters, producers and media staffers had shared illicit video clips of incidents that had occurred at the Burning Sun, as well as information about brothels and prostitutes.[153][154]

On September 29, Lee Jae-jung, a member of the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee released SMPA data showing that 12 of 40 police officers involved in the initial assault allegations of Kim Sang-kyo and afterwards had been disciplined, with any actions pending for key figures, such as Yoon. Lee criticized the results as "very disappointing" and "far from the public's expectation".[155]

2020: Indictments and trials continue

Seungri second arrest warrant fails, prosecution indicts without arrest

On January 8, 2020, seven months after police had submitted their case, the prosecution filed a second warrant requesting Seungri's arrest on seven charges – procuring prostitution for himself and others (29 times for foreign investors between September 2015 and January 2016), embezzlement (about $17,000 from Yuri Holdings), habitual gambling in Las Vegas (for a period of three years and six months since 2013), illegal currency transactions, violation of the Food Sanitation Law (at Monkey Museum club), and sharing three unconsented nude photos of women via mobile messenger.[156][157][158][159] No other warrants for his business partner Yoo, or any others involved, were requested.[158] The court denied the request at a hearing on January 13, saying detention was not warranted based on Seungri's "role and involvement in wrongdoings" and "his attitude toward the prosecution's investigation".[160]

On January 30, prosecutors indicted nine people, without detention, for allegations of crimes related to the Burning Sun case, including: Seungri for mediating prostitution, gambling, and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act, Yoo In-seok for mediating prostitution and business embezzlement, and Yang Hyun-suk for gambling and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act.[124][161][162][163] Another two, Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon, who were already imprisoned after a rape trial in 2019, were indicted for allegations of soliciting prostitution and for bribery of a police officer in a drunk driving incident, respectively.[163]

On February 7, former police officer Kang's trial conviction and sentencing in August 2019 for police collusion in the admittance of an underage customer at the Burning Sun club was overturned by an appeals court, based on lack of evidence showing that Kang had received the money.[164]

On April 3, four of the nine people charged with prostitution allegations received a summary judgment, with Jung Joon-young fined one million won and the Burning Sun's prior MD Kim fined two million won.[165] On April 25, the so-called "police chief" Yoon Gyu-geun, previously arrested in the fall of 2019 for allegations of bribery and mediating favors for the Burning Sun club, among others, was acquitted of all charges by a Seoul Central District trial court due to the prosecution's lack of evidence, although the court said, "It is not that the accused is 100 percent innocent or that the charges are not true."[166][167]

At a June 3 court hearing, Yoo admitted to all charges, including those related to prostitution and embezzlement.[168] At trial on June 22, Yoo again admitted to most of the charges, but denied intentionality, in particular in the embezzlement charge. His charges include allegations of sex trafficking a total of twenty-four times to foreign investors from 2015 to 2016 to open the Burning Sun club.[169] At a court hearing on September 9, Yang admitted to the gambling charges involving about 400 million won (around US$335,000) in Las Vegas casinos approximately twenty times between 2015 and 2019; with the next hearing scheduled for October 28.[161] At a court date for Yoo on October 14, the questioning of duplicate witnesses for both the civilian trial and military trial for Seungri was discussed.[170]

On November 27, a trial court sentenced Yang Hyun-suk to a 15 million won (US$13,600) fine for some twenty Las Vegas gambling charges between July 2015 and January 2019; along with three YG Entertainment and affiliated company YGX associates, a 37-year-old Kim and 41-year-old Lee were also fined 15 million won, and 48-year-old Keum was fined 10 million won.[171]

Yoo received a suspended sentence of three years probation for a one year and eight months prison term on December 24.[172]

Seungri's military trial begins

After the conclusion of the criminal investigation and indictment in civil court, on February 4, Seungri, who had already turned 30 (Korean age) received a final notification for his mandatory military service by the Military Manpower Administration. Their statement said they were "concerned a protracted trial in civilian courts" might restrict the military obligation and the case against him would be referred to a military court for trial.[173][174] Seungri joined the military on March 9,[175] and on May 15, his trial was transferred from the Seoul Central District Court to a military court, with the civilian court trial for a remaining six defendants, including Yoo In-seok, scheduled to proceed separately.[176] At his first hearing at the Ground Operations Command's General Military Court in Yongin on September 16, Seungri denied all the charges except for the violations of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act.[177] A second court date on October 14 listed some twenty-two witnesses scheduled to testify.[170]

2021 – 2022: Final trials

Seungri's military trial concludes and appeals filed

On January 14, during the ongoing military trial, prosecutors added a ninth charge against Seungri, alleging that he and Yoo involved gang members to intervene in a bar dispute in December 2015.[178] Witness testimony concluded on July 1, with Seungri's denial of all the charges except one violation of the foreign curency act during gambling in Las Vegas; and the prosecution recommended a five-year sentencing and fine for all the charges.[179] A military prosecutor said of Seungri, "Despite gaining advantages from the crimes, he is shifting the responsibility on another person... Considering his problematic views and attitude regarding sex, he needs to face severe punishment."[179]

On August 12, Seungri was sentenced to a three-year prison term, a fine of 1.15 billion won (US$990,000) and immediate detention.[180] The nine charges were: "prostitution mediation in violation of Act on the Punishment of Arrangement of Commercial Sex Acts Etc., embezzlement, overseas gambling, procuring prostitution service, violation of Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, violation of Food Sanitation Act, violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning The Punishment, Etc. of Sexual Crimes, violation of an Act on the Aggravated Punishment Etc. of Specific Economic Crimes and mobilizing gang to threaten people."[181] The total embezzlement amount was 528 million won (around $US455,000); the Las Vegas gambling amount, between December 2013 to August 2017, was 2.2 billion won (around US$2 million); and the period for procuring prostitutes for foreign investors from Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and other countries was between December 2015 to January 2016.[180] Due to the charge of "violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning The Punishment, Etc. of Sexual Crimes" or the distribution of three nude photos of women via a mobile chatroom, he was ordered to provide his personal information to a sex crimes registry".[179][182][181] While denying charges, Seugri had claimed that his KakaoTalk message, widely reported by media, about women that "give well", might have been a typo that his phone's autocorrection function caused.[182]

Appeals were filed by Seungri and the military prosecution on August 19 and 25, respectively.[183] On January 27, 2022 a military appeals court reduced Seungri's three-year prison sentence by half, to one year and six months, and imposed a smaller fine, based on his admission of guilt and "reflection" on all nine charges.[184] Seungri's military imprisonment, at the time, was calculated to end after another thirteen months.[184] This sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court of Korea on May 26, 2022, whereupon Seungri was discharged from the military and transferred to a civilian prison to serve the remainder of his term.[185]

Investigative reporting

 
SBS VIP bus, Bukchon Hanok Village, Seoul.

The SBS investigative reporter who examined the KakaoTalk chat messages sent by the whistleblower to the television station SBS funE was Kang Kyung-yoon.[37] Her previous work included reporting on the corruption cases related to former President Park Geun-hye.[186] When she started interviewing some of the victims of the videos, she found they did not know of their existence. She said, “Some of them begged, ‘Please save me. How do I live after this?’”[9] She said they were ashamed and angry but feared "wearing a scarlet letter as a sex crime victim", and so feared being identified. Kang said that the sex video investigation was seen by some people as a means to avert attention away from the larger corruption scandal with its multiple allegations, but she perceived it as a serious social issue that needed reporting on.[187]

At the end of March 2019, Seungri told the director of SBS's investigative program, Unanswered Questions, in a text message, that the lawyer, whistleblower, and journalist were responsible for all the criminal allegations against him, had not checked facts properly and had "ruined his career for their own personal gain".[38] In June, the production team of Unanswered Questions[188] (also called I Want to Know) received the Seoul City's Gender Equality Award Grand Prize, in part for their coverage of the scandal.[189]

Investigation summary

 
Korean National Police Agency KNPA, press bus, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

During the course of the investigation, SMPA focused on the Burning Sun club and its affiliates. Police conducted searches at the Burning Sun club, at the homes of CEO Moon and a sales executive Han, as well as at Burning Sun Entertainment, YG Entertainment, Yuri Holdings, Junwon Industries and Club Arena (and at the Seoul Regional Office of the National Tax Service of South Korea related to allegations of tax evasion).[79][90][190][191][192] The investigation found a 2.45 billion won (US$2.15 million) investment to the Burning Sun, with the Taiwanese investor having contributed 1 billion won and Seungri having contributed 225 million won.[193] Yonhap News Agency reported that one of the club's investors, perhaps Junwon Industries (also called Cheonwon Industry and a major shareholder in Burning Sun Entertainment which operated Burning Sun), Le Méridien Seoul's operator, may have forged a connection with the hotel, in the amount of $8.8 million, using the intermediary firm to attract larger investments to the club.[90][194] Junwon CEO Choi Tae-young was charged with embezzling funds, along with Seungri and Yoo.[90] A Burning sun employee Ahn, who worked as a female Taiwanese investor's Korean guide, was booked for embezzlement charges, and the possibility of any Triad investments or organized crime connections were investigated with Interpol and other agencies.[193] Burning Sun's female Taiwanese investor Lin was also booked on charges of embezzlement, in collusion with Seungri and Yoo.[195]

Seungri was investigated for allegedly: supplying prostitutes for investors, sharing an illicit photo of a woman in Jung's chatroom, giving concert tickets to a police officer Yoon, and embezzlement of funds from the clubs Monkey Museum and the Burning Sun.[41][44][196][197][198][199] Seungri's business partner and CEO of Yuri Holdings, Yoo In-seok, age 34, was investigated for connections to Gangnam police officer Yoon, embezzling Monkey Museum and the Burning Sun's funds, and for supplying prostitutes, along with Seungri.[41][90][200][201] CEO's Lee Sung-hyun and Lee Moon-ho, both age 29, were investigated for allegedly hiring minors as security guards and for bribing former Gangnam police officer Kang with 20 million won (US$17,700) to cover up an underage drinking issue at the club, the latter which Lee Sung-hyun admitted to doing, at a hearing for Kang.[125][193][191][202] YG head Yang and singer Psy were questioned as witnesses about additional allegations of sex-for-favors involving Yang and foreign guests Jho Low and Chavanos Rattakul. Allegations which they both denied, and the case was eventually closed for lack of proof.[107][108][203][112]

Arrests related to Burning Sun included CEO Lee Moon-ho who was detained and charged with drug use and distributing drugs to Burning Sun customers.[204] Others included a Burning Sun board member Jang, the alleged attacker of clubgoer Kim Sang-kyo, a chat group member named Kim who distributed illicit videos, and a Club Arena security guard Yoon, accused of attacking a guest in 2017.[205][206] A Chinese promoter, nicknamed Anna, age 26, was investigated for drug use and distribution, but no arrest was made.[207][204] An owner of Arena, Kang Mo, age 46, and a "puppet head" of the club, surnamed Lin, were arrested on charges of tax evasion,[45][208] alleged to have not paid taxes in the amount of 16.2 billion won (US$14.31 million) between 2014–2017.[209] On April 11, SMPA said 59 persons had been apprehended related to drug use and distribution charges in the Burning Sun scandal, and 11 were under arrest.[90]

Former Gangnam police officer Kang, age 44, was arrested for allegations of brokering between the Burning Sun and other police officers,[191][210] and booked for assisting with an underage drinking incident at the Burning Sun, which co-CEO Lee Sung-hyun admitted to paying him for.[125][210][211] Police firings and investigations included a senior superintendent Yoon, who knew Yoo, and assisted with the underage drinking incident and Monkey Museum's business zoning violations,[212] and was charged with violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act for receiving concert tickets from Seungri.[198][199]

In peripheral investigations, police announced over 500 drug related arrests on March 25, 2019, after declaring "total war" against drug crime on February 25, due to the scandal at the Burning Sun. Of the 523 arrests for the use and distribution of drugs, 216 were detained. 421 cases, or 82 percent, involved psychotomimetic drugs like GHB,[213] a common date rape drug, and one alleged to have been used at the Burning Sun.[75] On May 30, SMPA reported to have arrested nearly 4,000 people at 148 entertainment establishments on drug related charges in the three month crackdown after the scandal started. Some 920 of those were detained; 886 for drug related crimes, 23 for sexual assault or rape while under the influence of drugs, and 11 for taking illegal videos during drug use. Most were in their 20s and 30s, and about 40 percent of the crimes involved the use of the drug ecstasy.[214]

Women's issues and public protests

 
Protest rally, Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 6, (Le Méridien Hotel), Gangnam, May 25, 2019.

The scandal ignited public protests early in March 2019,[19] and later, after police attempts to arrest Seungri and Yoo fell through. A May 17 press conference held by women's rights groups, in front of the SMPA, criticized the results of the three month Burning Sun investigation, conducted by some 152 officers, as "dismal", with allegations of the club's "cozy" ties with police, and the illegal filming of women and distribution still unresolved.[2] Weekend rallies condemning the investigation's results started at the Blue House on May 19[215][216] and in Gangnam on May 25.[217] Lee Taek-kwang, a professor at Kyung Hee University said, “The recent Burning Sun nightclub scandal exposed a culture that exploits women, which has brought about public rage.”[218] Months later, on November 6, members of seven civic and women's groups, including the Green Party Korea and the Korean Cyber Sexual Violence Response Center (KCSVRC) held a press conference and protest in front of the SMPA Jongno-gu building demanding the resignation of KNPA's Commissioner Min Gap-ryong, criticizing the police investigations of the Jang Ja-yeon and Burning sun cases as biased and poorly conducted.[219]

The scandal added to ongoing discussions of women's issues in South Korea — gender inequality, the budding Me Too movement in South Korea, feminism, "molka", prostitution, and the K-pop industry's attitude towards women.[9][220] South Korea's #MeToo movement began in January 2018 and was followed by a students' #SchoolMeToo, which became the most tweeted social issue in South Korea in 2018, followed by "feminism", then "molka", the abbreviation for "spy cameras that are hidden in places such as public bathrooms and for the explicit videos later posted on porn sites".[220] In July 2018, thousands marched in Seoul against spy cameras and the government responded by hiring workers to monitor public bathrooms, but activists criticized a general dismissive attitude towards the crimes, citing a "deeply rooted gender inequality and misogyny in the country".[221] A 2018 OECD ranking of the country, at 30 out of 36 for women's employment, exemplifed the country's gender pay gap, while it ranked highly for women's education.[222] Jung's distribution of sex videos was one of the top gender issues talked about on online platforms in South Korea for the first half of 2019, with research showing a growing trend of gender based topics, most in a negative context.[223]

Talks included the K-pop industry, which critics had blamed for sexualizing women; Jang Yun-mi, a spokesperson for the Korean Women Lawyer's Association said, “The industry in Korea … is a boys’ club".[224] Women's rights activist Bae Bok-ju said of the spycam allegations in the scandal, "This case just shows that male K-pop stars are no exception when it comes to being part of this very disturbing reality that exploits women".[225] But, Seoul freelance journalist Haeryun Kang opined in The Washington Post, "The most recent celebrity scandal has generated fury among so many Korean women not because it is unique but because the story goes far beyond K-pop. The patterns of male behavior feel disturbingly familiar. The gender power dynamics — that often objectify women into sex tools — feel exhaustingly repetitive", and said the scandal was more than "misogyny and spy cameras", but a larger story of the Burning Sun nighclub's "alleged involvement in prostitution, drug trafficking and police corruption".[9]

Effects on entertainment industry

 
Outside
 
Inside
Gangnam nightclub, Ultra Korea (UMF) 2012, after-party at Club Ellui, Seoul.

Between February 25 and March 15, 2019, five major South Korean entertainment companies lost 17.52 percent in value, with their market value dropping from 3.35 trillion won (around US$2.96 billion) to 2.76 trillion won. Stocks dropped for the "big three" K-pop management companies: YG Entertainment (Seungri's company), 24.8 percent, SM Entertainment, 20 percent, JYP Entertainment, 5.5 percent; and additional 20 percent drops for Cube Entertainment and FNC Entertainment.[226][227] But, on April 11, while the scandal was still under investigation, entertainment companies were forecast by experts (FinGuide Inc. and a Hyundai Motor Securities analyst) to post solid profit growth in 2019, with substantial operating profits for the three big labels; while others added that K-pop's financial reliance on YouTube was unlikely to be affected.[228] However, by September 16, YG Entertainment stocks had dropped by nearly half since January 7.[229]

Actress Park Han-byul, who married Yoo of Yuri Holdings in 2017, first stated that she knew nothing more than his being Seungri's business partner,[230] but made a public apology on March 19, after it was reported that she and her husband had played golf previously with the high-ranking police official under investigation for collusion with the nightclubs in the scandal. She said she would not leave a major role in the television drama Love in Sadness,[231] despite calls from some viewers for her to do so.[73]

YG Entertainment discontinued sales of merchandise featuring Seungri, and major networks and cable companies deleted episodes of programs both Seungri and Jung had appeared in.[232] In another YG Entertainment artist's scandal, on June 12, 2019, idol B.I, whose real name is Kim Han-bin, age 23, a songwriter and leader of K-pop band iKon, quit his group after the media outlet Dispatch revealed 2016 KakaoTalk messages of him attempting to purchase LSD from a suspected drug dealer, which he admitted to. YG Entertainment, still under scrutiny for allegations concerning their former artist Seungri and head Yang in the Burning Sun scandal, quickly ended their contract with B.I, stating their "sense of responsibility in managing its associated artists";[233][234] and Yang resigned from the agency on June 14, amidst allegations of police collusion to cover up the case.[235]

Seoul's EDM festivals responded that they would not hold after-parties in 2019 in Gangnam's clubs, due to the Burning Sun police investigation. The festivals were often promoted in association with entertainment clubs and Ultra Korea, Seoul World DJ Festival and Spectrum Dance Music Festival all held after-parties in 2018 at the Burning Sun, among other clubs. An organizer for the largest, Ultra Korea, said that due to the scandal's allegations of sex crimes involving GHB or "mulpong", and cannabis use at festivals, plans were being made to mobilize detection dogs, bag checks and X-rays for monitoring drug trafficking this year.[236]

Gangnam's nightclubs, usually "a pilgrimage site for K-pop fans", immediately saw a tapering of Chinese tourists,[237] followed by a general decline of customers to nightclubs and lounge bars.[209][238] Bars that were registered as general restaurants with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, where dancing is not allowed, a tactic used by clubs in the Burning Sun scandal to avoid paying higher taxes, underwent a strict monitoring, causing a subdued atmosphere with "Please do not dance" signs posted and police checking in, to enforce the rule.[238] In late October, France's Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs released an informational report (not a travel alert) for travelers to South Korea, advising caution due to reported cases of GHB and assault drugs at clubs in Hongdae, Itaewon and Gangnam, following earlier French media reports of the Burning Sun scandal.[239]

After internet users raised rumors about the possible involvement of several actresses in the scandal, Go Joon-hee, who was managed by YG Entertainment in 2015, first objected on social media, then filed a libel suit for defamation against twelve of them, citing damages to her career,[232][240] and Han Hyo-joo filed a criminal complaint against thirty-three more.[241] Other actresses and their agencies made denials and warned of legal actions,[240] and at least seven (which included college students, the unemployed, construction workers, and one U.S. citizen) were arrested and referred for prosecution.[242]

Some scenes from a 2019 South Korean film, Quantum Physics, about a celebrity drug scandal at a nightclub, were filmed at the Burning Sun nightclub before it closed down. Although it was not based on the real-life scandal, Director Lee Sung-tae said he reconsidered one of the film's scenes, as they were editing as it was ongoing.[243]

A November 2019 retrospective article, written by Matthew Campbell and Sohee Kim for Bloomberg Businessweek, pointed out that the K-pop industry, in general, had ignored the scandal, with "no organized demands for better behavior from male stars or serious discussions about revamping how idols are trained." They quoted a former SM Entertainment executive, Jeong Chang-hwan, on its implicit impact, “It’s a huge lesson in what not to do,” he says. “The best teacher for young idols is to see fellow idols get into a scandal and disappear from the industry.”[244]

Public response

Allegations of police misconduct and corruption in the scandal added public support to a government proposal to create an independent investigative agency, first announced by President Moon in July 2017, and still undergoing political debate. Proposed to "uncover wrongdoing by high-level government officials and their relatives", with the power to take over prosecutions, opponents had questioned its own potential for corruption.[245][246]

K-pop fans' reactions were mixed, some called for YG Entertainment to remove Seungri from the group Big Bang for tarnishing the group's image and having used the group's celebrity to promote his business,[247] even waiting outside his agency's office for an explanation.[248] However, other fans continued to support him.[249]

The public appeared to boycott a noodle chain called Aori Ramen between January and April 2019, according to multiple store owners who filed a compensation lawsuit in July blaming Seungri, who had run and promoted the franchise, for falling sales.[250]

Google Korea's most popular domestic searched terms for 2019 included Jung Joon-young ranked at number two over-all, and number one for top public figure; with Burning Sun ranked at number three for domestic news and issues.[251] Yonhap News Agency editors selected the scandal as one of the top ten South Korean news stories of 2019.[252]

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External links

  •   Media related to Burning Sun scandal at Wikimedia Commons

January 20, 2023
burning, scandal, also, known, burning, gate, 2019, entertainment, scandal, seoul, south, korea, which, involved, several, celebrities, including, korean, idols, popular, groups, police, officials, largest, scandal, industry, allegations, crimes, involved, add. The Burning Sun scandal also known as Burning Sun gate 1 2 was a 2019 entertainment and sex scandal in Seoul South Korea which involved several celebrities including Korean idols of popular K pop groups and police officials It was the largest scandal to hit the K pop industry The allegations of sex crimes involved added to the country s epidemic of what is called molka a Korean word for the online distribution of unconsented sex videos taken of women and the scandal became fodder for political parties who argued over how to handle it 3 4 5 Burning Sun scandalSeungri 2018 and Jung Joon young 2015Main Korean idols involved in the Burning Sun scandal and Jung Joon young KakaoTalk chatroomsNative name클럽 버닝썬English nameClub Burning SunDateFebruary 23 2018 February 17 2019 2018 02 23 2019 02 17 Duration11 months closed during investigationVenueBurning Sun nightclub inside Le Meridien HotelLocation120 Bongeunsa ro Gangnam gu Seoul 06124 South KoreaAlso known asBurning Sun gateTypeEntertainment and sex scandalFirst reporterKim Sang kyoParticipantsBurning Sun co CEO Lee Sung hyun 11 Burning Sun co CEO Lee Moon ho 9 11 Seungri 1 7 Yuri Holdings CEO Yoo In seok 1 4 6 Yang Hyun suk 1 2 3 Former Gangnam police officer Kang 12 Senior SMPA police official Yoon Gyu geun 12 13 Burning Sun investor Madam Lin 6 Cheonwon Industries CEO Choi Tae young 6 Club Arena owner Kang 8 Club Arena owner Lin 8 Clubgoer and first reporter Kim Sang kyo 14 Burning Sun MD Cho 9 10 Additional Burning Sun participants 1 2 6 7 9 10 Other entertainment venue participants 7 9 10 14 Charges1 mediating or purchasing prostitution 2 habitual or overseas gambling 3 illegal currency transactions 4 business operations violations 5 instigating violence 6 embezzlement 7 taking or sharing illegal images 8 tax evasion 9 habitual drug use 10 drug smuggling and distribution 11 bribing police officials 12 accepting bribes police officials 13 misuse of power police officials 14 sexual assault or rapeIt began on January 28 2019 when MBC Newsdesk reported a November 2018 alleged assault of a male clubgoer at the Burning Sun a prominent nightclub in Gangnam by a staff member 6 7 8 The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency investigation soon turned to one concerning the club s alleged involvement in prostitution drug trafficking and police corruption 9 Seungri of the band Big Bang one of the club s directors 10 subsequently resigned from the entertainment industry on March 11 2019 after being charged with sexual bribery 11 12 The scandal quickly encompassed allegations of rape and spy cams when singer and entertainer Jung Joon young confessed to secretly filming himself having sex with women and sharing the videos without their knowledge or consent in the Jung Joon young KakaoTalk chatrooms and he resigned from the entertainment industry on March 12 2019 While looking into the Burning Sun scandal SBS funE had discovered videos dated from 2015 to 2016 as well as conversations he shared in chat groups on the social media app KakaoTalk with Seungri and acquaintances 13 14 The chatroom expose immediately affected a few celebrities and more as the case developed On March 14 Yong Jun hyung of Highlight and Choi Jong hoon of F T Island resigned from their positions after allegations they were participants in the chatrooms 15 16 and the agency for Lee Jong hyun of CNBLUE admitted his involvement on March 15 17 On International Women s Day March 8 2019 the scandal led to a street protest in Gangnam against the Burning Sun and other nightclubs calling for an end to what the protesters called a culture that treats women as sexual objects 18 19 Although thousands of women had rallied in 2018 against illicit filming and sharing the allegations against the idealized image of pop idols still surprised the public 20 The serious nature of the scandal prompted a response from President Moon Jae in who ordered a thorough investigation 3 21 22 Legal proceedings for criminal investigations generated by the scandal continued into 2021 Although several police officers were disciplined for their actions involving the Burning Sun club the two highest profile cases resulted in trial acquittals Burning Sun s co CEO Lee Sung hyun testified that he had paid a former police officer Kang to cover for an underage clubgoer incident but Kang s one year prison sentence was overturned for lack of evidence that he had received the money Also a well publicized case involved a senior police official Yoon Gyu geun who was arrested for allegations of bribery and mediating favors for the Burning Sun club and others which ended with an innocent verdict at his first trial Among other verdicts Burning Sun s co CEO Lee Moon ho was sentenced to a year in prison for habitual drug use including ecstasy and ketamine in Gangnam clubs and one of the club s promoters MD Cho four years and six months for drug use and smuggling Due to public interest in the scandal police conducted drug sweeps at entertainment venues that yielded hundreds of drug related arrests a large percentage involving ecstasy and GHB a common date rape drug along with cases of sexual assault and rape and the filming of illegal videos during drug use Seungri s business associate Yoo In seok admitted to providing their potential Japanese investors with prostitutes and received a suspended sentence of three years probation for that and an embezzlement charge Seungri s entertainment agency head Yang Hyun suk admitted to gambling and illegal money transactions in Las Vegas casinos and was sentenced to paying a fine at trial along with three YG and YGX associates Seungri s case concluded in January 2022 in a military appeals court with a reduced prison sentence of one year and a half and a fine The nine charges included habitual gambling overseas and illegal money transactions prostitution mediation and purchase violence instigation violation of the Specific Economic Crimes Act embezzlement sharing illicit photos and a business operations violation Contents 1 Background 1 1 Burning Sun nightclub 1 2 Other clubs 1 3 Seungri s background as a businessman 1 3 1 Seungri s friends and scandal participants 2 Development 2 1 2019 Scandal begins and cases develop 2 1 1 January 28 Kim Sang kyo assault at Burning Sun reported 2 1 2 Initial allegations at Burning Sun 2 1 3 February 26 first KakaoTalk messages revealed 2 1 4 Seungri booked 2 1 5 March 11 Jung Joon young KakaoTalk chatrooms and source revealed 2 1 6 April 1 end of year Seungri s business partner admits to hiring prostitutes and first arrest warrant fails 2 1 7 Other investigations 2 2 2020 Indictments and trials continue 2 2 1 Seungri second arrest warrant fails prosecution indicts without arrest 2 2 2 Seungri s military trial begins 2 3 2021 2022 Final trials 2 3 1 Seungri s military trial concludes and appeals filed 3 Investigative reporting 4 Investigation summary 5 Women s issues and public protests 6 Effects on entertainment industry 7 Public response 8 References 9 External linksBackground EditBurning Sun nightclub Edit Closed entrance of Club Burning Sun Le Meridien Hotel Gangnam March 27 2019 The Burning Sun nightclub Hangul 클럽 버닝썬 Club Burning Sun 23 opened at the Le Meridien Seoul hotel in Yeoksam dong Gangnam gu on February 23 2018 24 and closed during the investigation of the scandal on February 17 2019 25 The upscale hotel had just replaced the Ritz Carlton Hotel and opened in September 2017 months before the Burning Sun s opening 26 The nightclub was often called Seungri s Club due to its affiliation with K pop idol Seungri of Big Bang 27 The Burning Sun advertised itself as the most elegant and finest club in South Korea 24 It included a basement level for EDM a second level for hip hop VIP admittance 60 VIP tables near the DJ box and stage spacious dance floors and accommodation for 1000 guests The drink menu listed Armand de Brignac champagne and Louis XIII cognac sets priced in the thousands of dollars 24 28 29 The sound system was set up by Funktion One a specialized overseas company whose sound expert Tony Andrews was invited to the club for sound tuning Seungri served as one of the DJs along with other local and visiting guest artists like R3hab 28 30 The club s CEOs were Lee Moon ho and Lee Sung hyun a former board member of the company that operated the Le Meridien Seoul hotel 31 32 Seungri was one of seven in house directors and resigned from his position in January 2019 33 Seungri was the co founder of Yuri Holdings a shareholder of Burning Sun Entertainment that operated the club 34 which owned as much as 20 percent in shares 35 and which was established in March 2016 with Yoo In seok to manage his restaurant and entertainment businesses 36 Seungri resigned from his position in mid February 32 and Yoo resigned on March 13 37 Seungri described his relationship to the club in an interview with The Chosun Ilbo published on March 22 2019 saying that CEO Lee Moon ho a friend of his was the operator of the club and in charge while Seungri s name was used for marketing after his initial investment of 10 million won around US 8 800 38 In the interview Seungri said the breakdown of Burning Sun s shares were as follows owners of Le Meridien Seoul 42 percent Lee Sung hyun CEO of Le Meridien Seoul 8 percent Yuri Holdings 20 percent Madam Lin Taiwanese investor 20 percent and Lee Moon ho 10 percent 30 Other clubs Edit Monkey Museum was the first Gangnam club to associate Seungri s name and opened on July 27 2016 in the upscale neighborhood of Cheongdam dong Gangnam gu It was a trendy hip hop lounge style bar 39 40 co owned by Seungri Yoo and a group of K pop singers 41 During the scandal s investigation it became one of the first non relevant charges against Seungri of illegal operation as a bar while it was registered as a restaurant 42 and later involved allegations of embezzlement of funds by Seungri and Yoo 41 Arena or Club Arena was a dance club that opened in 2014 in Nonhyeon dong Gangnam gu It was known as a TV and sports celebrity hang out had a reputation for a very strict dress code and could accommodate 700 guests with separate EDM and hip hop dance floors 43 It was another club Seungri was affiliated with and where he was alleged to have made arrangements for investors to receive sexual favors 44 The owner last name Kang and another of the club s operators were arrested on tax evasion charges during the scandal s investigation 45 Seungri s background as a businessman Edit The club s scandal was heightened in the media exacerbated by Seungri s wide popularity and his possible business connections to it 46 He had developed a second career in business 47 48 and the nightclub business was not his first business venture having been preceded by several others a Japanese ramen restaurant chain cosmetics a Belgian waffle cafe and a record company co founded with his agency YG Entertainment 49 47 He invested in biotechnology and nanotechnology and the development of masks for yellow dust protection 50 and failed at real estate and electronic businesses 49 He closed his successful vocal and dance academy the Joy Dance Plug In Music Academy which he first opened in 2011 in his home town of Gwangju with branches around South Korea 47 48 after some parents complained about an overly friendly teacher student relationship at one location 51 In November 2018 he entered the IT sector when he became the Creative Director and model for HeadRock VR a franchise brand of the AR product company SocialNetwork and affiliate Mediafront and assisted in the opening of the Headrock VR theme park in Singapore 52 53 54 The multilingual Seungri who has multiple business interests was popularly seen as an ideal cultural export Lee Moon won popular culture critic in the South China Morning Post Seungri who used a stage name that means victory in Korean his real name is Lee Seung hyun 55 56 at the age of 28 was the youngest member of Big Bang 57 58 having debuted at age 15 59 Just before the scandal broke he released his first solo Korean language studio album in July 2018 and was conducting his first solo tour The Great Seungri after 13 years as a group member 60 61 He was filling the void for the band s hiatus while all remaining four members were in military service 57 and waiting for his own enlistment in March 62 Jessica Oak at Billboard wrote Seungri has forged and built an empire all his own during his 13 years in the industry The superstar has become known as a thriving entrepreneur with business ventures in food nightlife and music labels 61 He had been the subject of a popular TV show on SBS about his life and businesses filmed speaking four languages and throwing lavish parties in luxury resorts 63 In August 2018 Baik Su jin a journalist at The Chosun Ilbo described his story among other rich celebrities as a rags to riches story adding that Seungri was a late bloomer in the spotlight only coming into his own after the other Big Bang members were absent Seungri said I had a tough time outshining other members of the group so I studied foreign languages 63 He said he had tried to succeed at business in part because he felt overlooked and underappreciated by fans being the youngest of the famous group and business was a place where he would not have to compete with the other band members Seungri said his popularity had been a business asset and he had looked for partners that would benefit from it 49 His last studio album The Great Seungri was a play on his nickname from the novel The Great Gatsby 55 64 After his involvement in the scandal a popular culture critic in Seoul Lee Moon won said the multilingual Seungri with has multiple business interests had been seen as an ideal cultural export deemed to be a hard worker by his fans Lee pointed out the irony of Seungri s having been found to be thoroughly comparable to The Great Gatsby protagonist not only for his good looks business acumen and lavish parties but because both had sought illicit and corrupt activities to gain fame and wealth 65 Seungri s friends and scandal participants Edit Seungri was close to celebrity friends Jung Joon young age 30 and Choi Jong hoon age 29 who joined him when his agency YG Entertainment launched their newest YG Republique restaurant in August 2017 in Kuala Lumpur 66 67 Jung a singer songwriter and television celebrity and the key person in the illicit sex video portion of the scandal 68 had been a friend of Seungri for several years In 2015 he showed off their relationship by telephoning Seungri for a chat during a live radio broadcast 69 In August 2018 Seungri joined him on the travel show Salty Tour where Jung was a main cast member and made comments that generated disciplinary actions by the Korea Communications Standards Commission due to their gender insensitivity or potential sexual harassment During a broadcast episode on a trip to Xiamen China Seungri asked a female guest to pick a favorite amongst the five male cast members and pour them a drink which viewers complained about 70 Development Edit2019 Scandal begins and cases develop Edit Le Meridien Hotel Gangnam location of Club Burning Sun January 28 Kim Sang kyo assault at Burning Sun reported Edit The first public awareness of the Burning Sun scandal was on January 28 2019 when MBC Newsdesk reported on an alleged assault of a 29 year old clubgoer Kim Sang kyo at the Burning Sun nightclub 32 Kim said he was attempting to help a woman who was being sexually harassed but staff had assaulted him 57 When the Yeoksam police arrived he was arrested as the assailant and booked on seven charges including criminal battery an indecent act defamation and the obstruction of the performance of official duties He said the police assaulted him after he was placed under arrest 57 71 The incident occurred on November 24 2018 but came to media attention in January 2019 after Kim posted a petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website detailing his assault by Burning Sun staffers and mistreatment by police and further stating that female customers were drugged by staffers and the club had a corrupt relationship with district police 25 Another current petition on the website called for the investigation of the club scene in general and druggings occurring there 71 Cheong Wa Dae is a petition website based on former President Obama s We the People and which was launched in August 2017 on President Moon s 100th day in office Kim s petition had received the benchmark 200 000 signatures prompting an official response 57 71 72 Initial allegations at Burning Sun Edit During the early stages the scandal evolved around Kim s complaint against the Burning Sun nightclub including any possible crimes that may have occurred there and the identities of responsible parties The initial January 28 report of the Kim incident by MBC Newsdesk included two CCTV videos of the club s security footage purportedly showing Kim s assault inside the club and a second one showing a woman being dragged down a hallway 73 and alleged to have been drugged 74 A KBS report soon added that an alleged former employee had talked about illegal drug use in the club s VIP rooms 74 An additional report by MBC on February 14 included allegations of a purported VIP client of the club who said staff solicited him in text messages offering women who were available for sex after readying them with date rape drugs He claimed to have received a video clip from staff showing an intoxicated woman being raped 75 By January 31 2019 the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency SMPA had taken charge of the investigation which included allegations of local Gangnam police corruption and collusion with the club s owners and had assigned a team to look into the club s allegations of sexual violence drug use Kim s arrest and any connection with the local police station 74 The SMPA said their quick response and follow up investigation was due to media attention garnered by the Big Bang K pop group member Seungri s affiliation with the club They also said they had expanded their probe of drug related allegations to all Gangnam clubs due to club marketing by independent merchandisers or MDs for many different clubs 46 Seungri s involvement and his relationship to the nightclub immediately became a hot media issue 74 Yang Hyun suk the chief of his agency YG Entertainment released a statement on January 31 that Seungri had been at the club on November 28 but left before Kim s incident occurred He also said Seungri s recent resignation as a senior director of the club was due to his upcoming military enlistment 74 Seungri s delayed response to the controversy was in an Instagram statement on February 2 stating that he was not present at the club during Kim s alleged assault had belatedly heard about it and served as an executive director for the club and had no part in the club s operation or management but he however apologized that he had not taken responsibility from the beginning 10 February 26 first KakaoTalk messages revealed Edit On February 26 2019 SBS FunE released the first portions of the KakaoTalk recordings that would become crucial in the investigation saying their origin was an anonymous source which had turned them over to the Anti Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on February 22 The recordings dated back to 2015 and seemed to implicate Seungri with allegations that he had directed Burning Sun staff to arrange prostitutes for foreign investors who were coming to Seoul at another Gangnam nightclub The source had cited possible police collusion as the reason for not turning them over directly to police The police held a press conference on March 4 saying they had not seen the original unedited KakaoTalk messages and doubted their veracity just prior to an SBS report detailing how they had obtained them 76 On February 27 Seungri was questioned by the SMPA a lengthy interview that lasted overnight and included a drug test Seungri denied allegations of attempts to buy sex for potential foreign investors or sex for business favors and any knowledge of the KakaoTalk messages which had been disclosed by media conversations he allegedly had with a Burning Sun co founder and another of its employees about such arrangements and he denied drug use Media reports said that various nightclubs were used for the lobbying 77 including one named Arena where Seungri allegedly arranged sexual favors for investors 56 In one alleged chat conversation between Seungri and his business partners in December 2015 Seungri says Give B the anonymous investor everything she wants Get a hold of the main rooms 3 and 4 at the club Arena We have guests from Taiwan After confirming arrangements with a man surnamed Kim Seungri asked And what about the girls Give them the easy girls Yoo answered I m getting the prostitutes ready so if you get two prostitutes then lead them to the hotel rooms Two is good 78 Seungri booked Edit On March 10 Seungri was booked on sex bribery charges 79 The following day he resigned from entertainment on his Instagram account stating that he had caused a societal disturbance and said he would cooperate with the investigation 11 March 11 Jung Joon young KakaoTalk chatrooms and source revealed Edit Choi Jong hoon 2012 Eddy Kim 2014 Yong Jun hyung 2017 Lee Jong hyun 2017Other idols involved in the Jung Joon young KakaoTalk chatrooms Main article Jung Joon young KakaoTalk chatrooms The source of the KakaoTalk messages was revealed to be a lawyer Bang Jung hyun on March 11 when he was interviewed on SBS Eight O Clock News 80 He had obtained the messages from a whistleblower or anonymous source possibly a technician at a phone repair shop where singer and entertainer Jung Joon young had dropped his phone off for repairs 57 81 The whistleblower had sent an email to Bang of thousands of chats taken from Jung s phone which took place over eight months between 2015 and 2016 82 When the Burning Sun scandal started the phone messages were forwarded to the Anti Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and to SBS FunE and the secretly filmed sex tapes and other chat messages on Jung s phone became public 57 81 During the SBS interview the integrity of the chat room file was discussed and was said to have a tamper proof device technically a hash code verification showing that the file had not been manipulated and could stand as circumstantial evidence to seek more evidence 80 Bang an economics graduate of Seoul National University and a practicing lawyer 83 said of the chats Their conversations showed that there were not only sex crimes by celebrities but also a cozy relationship between them and top police officers and It is someone higher up than the Gangnam Police Precinct chief 82 Traffic on Bongeunsa ro Yeoksam dong Gangnam Le Meridien Hotel location of Club Burning Sun on left Also on Monday March 11 due to possible police involvement the Commission a watchdog agency turned the records over to the Supreme Prosecutors Office of the Republic of Korea asking them to investigate the scandal instead of the police 82 84 Within a week the case was transferred to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office who said they would assign a team to direct the SMPA s investigation 85 Also due to the new allegations of possible police misconduct on March 14 Commissioner Min Gap ryong of the Korean National Police Agency KNPA reported to the Ministry of Public Safety and Security at the National Assembly that A total of 126 agents will be assigned to investigate the nightclub Burning Sun the assault at Club Arena drug use ties with the police and allegations of brokering prostitution filming and distributing illegal videos among other things 35 President Moon ordered an investigation of the scandal on March 18 to include two past sex scandal cases the first one involved a former vice justice minister Kim Hak ui who was cleared of a scandal in 2013 but had new allegations of raping women and appearing in sex videos with them and the second one was the 2009 suicide of rookie actress Jang Ja yeon whose purported suicide note included a list of men who she was forced to have sex with by her entertainment agency The handling of those cases had been criticized for nonimpartiality due to the involvement of high profile figures 3 21 22 He said The current leadership of the prosecution and police should stake the fate of their organizations with responsibility on uncovering the truth and becoming a law enforcement agency that can reveal its own shameful acts so as to regain trust and I am stressing that if we cannot fix it we cannot call this society a just one 21 Ha Hyun ock a deputy financial news editor of the JoongAng Ilbo likened the burgeoning events to the Korean Mafia with allegations of drug dealing prostitution violence tax evasion and collusion with police He referred to the assessment Bang brought up on the SBS news program of its being the beginning of a Korean Mafia with K pop s popularity creating celebrities of new money and status who hobnob with business and government connections 80 86 Seungri s and Jung s inter locking scandals were combined in public televised view when both were called into the SMPA station on March 14 with more than 100 journalists gathered for Jung s 10 a m appearance 87 It consisted of his arrival and apology before entering the station for questioning and a drug test followed similarly by Seungri some three hours later Police also questioned Seungri s business partner and Yuri Holdings CEO Yoo In seok 88 Seungri exited first at around 6 15 a m on March 15 some 16 hours later and he told reporters as he exited that he would be putting in a request to delay his mandatory military service later in the month Jung exited about an hour later after his 21 hour interrogation 89 April 1 end of year Seungri s business partner admits to hiring prostitutes and first arrest warrant fails Edit On April 1 SMPA announced they had booked Seungri and Yoo for allegations of embezzlement from the Monkey Museum club which they opened in 2016 41 Later allegations stated that funds from Yuri Holdings were used to pay attorney fees for a criminal case involving an employee of the club 90 On April 29 a Chosun Ilbo headline Seung ri s Business Partner Admits Pimping followed Seungri and Yoo s new questioning by SMPA in which Seungri continued to deny any involvement with prostitution and Yoo finally admitted that he supplied prostitutes to six or more Japanese investors at their Gangnam nightclub in December 2015 SMPA had paper trails of money transactions a YG Entertainment credit card payment by Seungri and a wire transfer by Yoo and chat room conversations the two had with Jung about the arrangements 91 and had booked 17 prostitutes and pimps related to the incidents 92 Seungri was summoned for questioning about alleged embezzlement of the Burning Sun club s funds for the first time on May 2 following sixteen prior interrogations about his alleged arrangement of sexual services for investors 93 94 MBC TV covering a Burning Sun protest rally Le Meridien Hotel subway exit Gangnam May 25 2019 On May 7 SMPA requested arrest warrants to include pre trial detention for Seungri and Yoo and they appeared at May 14 hearings on charges of embezzling company funds and arranging sexual services for foreign investors along with a new charge that Seungri had paid for sexual services himself 95 96 97 Seungri admitted that he received illicit sex services but denied all other allegations at the Seoul Central District Court hearing and was led to a holding cell in ropes to await the decision which came later in the evening when both arrest warrants were denied with the court citing room for dispute over the alleged embezzlement and said the possibility of destroying evidence was slim 97 98 99 SMPA referred Seungri s case to prosecutors on June 25 with charges related to 1 1 billion won US 951 000 in embezzlement destruction of evidence violation of laws on sex trade sexual crimes and food hygiene Allegations included procuring prostitutes for himself and for others from Taiwan Hong Kong and Japan from December 2015 to January 2016 His business partner Yoo was also referred to prosecutors for procuring prostitutes 100 MBC TV s May 27 show Straight introduced new allegations and another celebrity name to the scandal It alleged that YG Entertainment s founder Yang Hyun suk had arranged sexual services for foreign investors in July 2014 which he and the company denied 101 102 SMPA began an investigation based on the show s details of an alleged dinner meeting in Gangnam and a trip to a nightclub NB affiliated with Yang that included Yang age 50 a Malaysian fugitive Jho Low age 38 a Thai national named Bob Chavanos Rattakul a YG singer a Madam Jung Hwang Ha na and as many as 10 prostitutes who allegedly provided sexual services at the nightclub Singer Psy age 42 who was with YG Entertainment at the time released a statement that he had introduced his friend Jho Low to Yang and acknowledged that he and Yang had been invited to the dinner and drinks with Low and the other man but denied any involvement in the alleged activities 102 103 104 105 Allegations also referenced a December 2018 rape complaint at the Burning Sun against Rattakul one of the foreign investors also affiliated with Seungri and who had been summoned by police 105 106 In June Yang was questioned by police about the prostitution allegations but not taken in as a suspect and Psy was questioned as a witness about the July 2014 incident which statute of limitations was soon to expire 107 108 109 On July 17 SMPA reported having booked Yang for allegations of arranging sexual services for the foreign investors in 2014 along with three more suspects for prostitution allegations 110 111 but dropped the charges against Yang on September 20 stating that they had failed to prove them 112 113 A prior allegation of Seungri s possible gambling overseas was reignited by an August 9 JTBC report alleging instances of Yang and Seungri having gambled up to 1 to 2 billion won at the MGM Grand Las Vegas on past occasions SMPA said they were examining Yang s financial records for possible illegal foreign exchange transactions that may have been used for his alleged gambling which is illegal for South Koreans at home and abroad 114 115 On August 14 both Yang and Seungri were booked on charges of habitual gambling 116 and by August 20 charges included illegal foreign trade transactions and a travel ban had been imposed 117 On August 28 and 29 both were questioned and Seungri admitted to gambling but denied allegations of illegally securing funds in violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act 118 119 Seungri was questioned again on September 24 and Yang on October 1 120 121 On October 31 SMPA said they would be referring Yang and Seungri along with three others for prosecution of alleged habitual gambling for a time period from the second half of 2014 to the present 122 In the first case with allegations of police collusion a former Gangnam police officer surnamed Kang age 44 was sentenced to one year in prison on August 14 123 During the trial co CEO Lee Sung hyun testified that he paid 20 million won US 17 000 to Kang to cover for an underage clubgoer incident at the Burning Sun and had not discussed the arrangements with Seungri 124 125 In drug related cases on August 22 co CEO Lee Moon ho received a suspended sentence of three years probation and community service for a year and a half prison term in a habitual drug use case where he pled guilty 126 127 but at a second trial on November 28 was sentenced to one year in prison with charges of using more than 10 drugs including ecstasy and ketamine in Gangnam clubs from 2018 through February 2019 The court said that Lee Moon ho s position as the operator of the Burning Sun Club put him at a different level than an ordinary drug offender and his first sentencing had been light and unfair 124 128 129 A senior SMPA official Yoon Gyu geun age 49 referred to as the police chief in the chatrooms was arrested on October 10 on charges of accepting bribes and misuse of power among others following a search at his office in September 130 131 132 133 Yoon was referred for prosecution in June for allegedly informing Seungri and Yoo In seok of police crackdowns but the late search and focus on Yoon was questioned by a The Korea Times report by Lee Suh yoon as possibly being related to his having worked in the Blue House in 2017 under Justice Minister Cho Kuk who was being investigated in a separate case 100 134 135 A businessman named Jeong a possible link between Yoon and Yoo was arrested earlier on embezzlement charges 130 Yoon was indicted on October 29 on charges of bribery obstruction of business and concealing evidence among others related to allegations of attempting to cover up illegalities at the Burning Sun and other businesses run by Seungri and Yoo Yoon was also alleged to have received unlisted stocks from businessman Jeong in relation to the case while Jeong is suspected of being tied to illicit financial transactions in the separate case against ex Justice Minister Cho 136 137 A Burning Sun employee an MD named Cho age 28 one of the first investigated in the club s scandal was sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment in early December for smuggling and administering drugs 124 138 139 Other investigations Edit SMPA announced on May 15 they had referred the original whistleblower of the club s scandal Kim Sang kyo to the prosecution for indictment for sexually assaulting three women and obstructing the business 97 140 In early July the government responded to an April 11 Cheong Wa Dae petition which had detailed new allegations at the Burning Sun club which was followed by a report on MBC TV s Straight 141 142 143 Witnesses interviewed on the program alleged underage sex trafficking and violent sexual abuse of women claiming VIP rooms at the club and offsite were set up for customers including those from upperclass Korean families and a special clean up crew called the incinerators were employed to remove blood and incriminating evidence 144 145 The petition which received the required signatures asked for the investigation of an alleged group rape by six men in one of the VIP rooms of a woman who had been given GHB called mulpong in South Korea 143 In late June BBC News reporter Laura Bicker shared similar allegations of Gangnam s nightlife in its glitzy nightclubs women have been drugged to order by powerful men and raped and underage girls are being sexually exploited for profit 146 On July 9 KNPA Commissioner Min responded that the allegations of sexual abuse and drug use in the VIP rooms per the petition were not confirmed He added I will humbly accept the public s criticism that the results of the investigation are insufficient in relation to the Burning Sun case 141 142 On July 17 SMPA held a preventive meeting at the Seodaemun gu police offices to discuss a Second Burning Sun Club Opening after a KBS report detailed possible new problems of sexual harassment at a new club in the Gangnam area opened by former employees of the Burning Sun club just four months after it closed down 147 148 Also as part of an anti corruption initiative established at the troubled Gangnam Police Station SMPA announced an unprecedented open recruitment just for that police station in mid July after 164 officers were transferred to other departments 149 150 A newly formed three month joint response team was also set up to investigate club illegal activity in Gangnam from August through October to prevent a new Burning Sun incident 151 152 On September 10 SMPA s Cyber Security Division referred charges of defamation and pornography for twelve participants in an investigation of media personnel which began on May 3 A Cheong Wa Dae petition was filed alleging that a chat group of about 200 reporters producers and media staffers had shared illicit video clips of incidents that had occurred at the Burning Sun as well as information about brothels and prostitutes 153 154 On September 29 Lee Jae jung a member of the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee released SMPA data showing that 12 of 40 police officers involved in the initial assault allegations of Kim Sang kyo and afterwards had been disciplined with any actions pending for key figures such as Yoon Lee criticized the results as very disappointing and far from the public s expectation 155 2020 Indictments and trials continue Edit Seungri second arrest warrant fails prosecution indicts without arrest Edit On January 8 2020 seven months after police had submitted their case the prosecution filed a second warrant requesting Seungri s arrest on seven charges procuring prostitution for himself and others 29 times for foreign investors between September 2015 and January 2016 embezzlement about 17 000 from Yuri Holdings habitual gambling in Las Vegas for a period of three years and six months since 2013 illegal currency transactions violation of the Food Sanitation Law at Monkey Museum club and sharing three unconsented nude photos of women via mobile messenger 156 157 158 159 No other warrants for his business partner Yoo or any others involved were requested 158 The court denied the request at a hearing on January 13 saying detention was not warranted based on Seungri s role and involvement in wrongdoings and his attitude toward the prosecution s investigation 160 On January 30 prosecutors indicted nine people without detention for allegations of crimes related to the Burning Sun case including Seungri for mediating prostitution gambling and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act Yoo In seok for mediating prostitution and business embezzlement and Yang Hyun suk for gambling and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act 124 161 162 163 Another two Jung Joon young and Choi Jong hoon who were already imprisoned after a rape trial in 2019 were indicted for allegations of soliciting prostitution and for bribery of a police officer in a drunk driving incident respectively 163 On February 7 former police officer Kang s trial conviction and sentencing in August 2019 for police collusion in the admittance of an underage customer at the Burning Sun club was overturned by an appeals court based on lack of evidence showing that Kang had received the money 164 On April 3 four of the nine people charged with prostitution allegations received a summary judgment with Jung Joon young fined one million won and the Burning Sun s prior MD Kim fined two million won 165 On April 25 the so called police chief Yoon Gyu geun previously arrested in the fall of 2019 for allegations of bribery and mediating favors for the Burning Sun club among others was acquitted of all charges by a Seoul Central District trial court due to the prosecution s lack of evidence although the court said It is not that the accused is 100 percent innocent or that the charges are not true 166 167 At a June 3 court hearing Yoo admitted to all charges including those related to prostitution and embezzlement 168 At trial on June 22 Yoo again admitted to most of the charges but denied intentionality in particular in the embezzlement charge His charges include allegations of sex trafficking a total of twenty four times to foreign investors from 2015 to 2016 to open the Burning Sun club 169 At a court hearing on September 9 Yang admitted to the gambling charges involving about 400 million won around US 335 000 in Las Vegas casinos approximately twenty times between 2015 and 2019 with the next hearing scheduled for October 28 161 At a court date for Yoo on October 14 the questioning of duplicate witnesses for both the civilian trial and military trial for Seungri was discussed 170 On November 27 a trial court sentenced Yang Hyun suk to a 15 million won US 13 600 fine for some twenty Las Vegas gambling charges between July 2015 and January 2019 along with three YG Entertainment and affiliated company YGX associates a 37 year old Kim and 41 year old Lee were also fined 15 million won and 48 year old Keum was fined 10 million won 171 Yoo received a suspended sentence of three years probation for a one year and eight months prison term on December 24 172 Seungri s military trial begins Edit After the conclusion of the criminal investigation and indictment in civil court on February 4 Seungri who had already turned 30 Korean age received a final notification for his mandatory military service by the Military Manpower Administration Their statement said they were concerned a protracted trial in civilian courts might restrict the military obligation and the case against him would be referred to a military court for trial 173 174 Seungri joined the military on March 9 175 and on May 15 his trial was transferred from the Seoul Central District Court to a military court with the civilian court trial for a remaining six defendants including Yoo In seok scheduled to proceed separately 176 At his first hearing at the Ground Operations Command s General Military Court in Yongin on September 16 Seungri denied all the charges except for the violations of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act 177 A second court date on October 14 listed some twenty two witnesses scheduled to testify 170 2021 2022 Final trials Edit Seungri s military trial concludes and appeals filed Edit On January 14 during the ongoing military trial prosecutors added a ninth charge against Seungri alleging that he and Yoo involved gang members to intervene in a bar dispute in December 2015 178 Witness testimony concluded on July 1 with Seungri s denial of all the charges except one violation of the foreign curency act during gambling in Las Vegas and the prosecution recommended a five year sentencing and fine for all the charges 179 A military prosecutor said of Seungri Despite gaining advantages from the crimes he is shifting the responsibility on another person Considering his problematic views and attitude regarding sex he needs to face severe punishment 179 On August 12 Seungri was sentenced to a three year prison term a fine of 1 15 billion won US 990 000 and immediate detention 180 The nine charges were prostitution mediation in violation of Act on the Punishment of Arrangement of Commercial Sex Acts Etc embezzlement overseas gambling procuring prostitution service violation of Foreign Exchange Transactions Act violation of Food Sanitation Act violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning The Punishment Etc of Sexual Crimes violation of an Act on the Aggravated Punishment Etc of Specific Economic Crimes and mobilizing gang to threaten people 181 The total embezzlement amount was 528 million won around US455 000 the Las Vegas gambling amount between December 2013 to August 2017 was 2 2 billion won around US 2 million and the period for procuring prostitutes for foreign investors from Taiwan Japan Hong Kong and other countries was between December 2015 to January 2016 180 Due to the charge of violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning The Punishment Etc of Sexual Crimes or the distribution of three nude photos of women via a mobile chatroom he was ordered to provide his personal information to a sex crimes registry 179 182 181 While denying charges Seugri had claimed that his KakaoTalk message widely reported by media about women that give well might have been a typo that his phone s autocorrection function caused 182 Appeals were filed by Seungri and the military prosecution on August 19 and 25 respectively 183 On January 27 2022 a military appeals court reduced Seungri s three year prison sentence by half to one year and six months and imposed a smaller fine based on his admission of guilt and reflection on all nine charges 184 Seungri s military imprisonment at the time was calculated to end after another thirteen months 184 This sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court of Korea on May 26 2022 whereupon Seungri was discharged from the military and transferred to a civilian prison to serve the remainder of his term 185 Investigative reporting Edit SBS VIP bus Bukchon Hanok Village Seoul The SBS investigative reporter who examined the KakaoTalk chat messages sent by the whistleblower to the television station SBS funE was Kang Kyung yoon 37 Her previous work included reporting on the corruption cases related to former President Park Geun hye 186 When she started interviewing some of the victims of the videos she found they did not know of their existence She said Some of them begged Please save me How do I live after this 9 She said they were ashamed and angry but feared wearing a scarlet letter as a sex crime victim and so feared being identified Kang said that the sex video investigation was seen by some people as a means to avert attention away from the larger corruption scandal with its multiple allegations but she perceived it as a serious social issue that needed reporting on 187 At the end of March 2019 Seungri told the director of SBS s investigative program Unanswered Questions in a text message that the lawyer whistleblower and journalist were responsible for all the criminal allegations against him had not checked facts properly and had ruined his career for their own personal gain 38 In June the production team of Unanswered Questions 188 also called I Want to Know received the Seoul City s Gender Equality Award Grand Prize in part for their coverage of the scandal 189 Investigation summary Edit Korean National Police Agency KNPA press bus Jongno gu Seoul During the course of the investigation SMPA focused on the Burning Sun club and its affiliates Police conducted searches at the Burning Sun club at the homes of CEO Moon and a sales executive Han as well as at Burning Sun Entertainment YG Entertainment Yuri Holdings Junwon Industries and Club Arena and at the Seoul Regional Office of the National Tax Service of South Korea related to allegations of tax evasion 79 90 190 191 192 The investigation found a 2 45 billion won US 2 15 million investment to the Burning Sun with the Taiwanese investor having contributed 1 billion won and Seungri having contributed 225 million won 193 Yonhap News Agency reported that one of the club s investors perhaps Junwon Industries also called Cheonwon Industry and a major shareholder in Burning Sun Entertainment which operated Burning Sun Le Meridien Seoul s operator may have forged a connection with the hotel in the amount of 8 8 million using the intermediary firm to attract larger investments to the club 90 194 Junwon CEO Choi Tae young was charged with embezzling funds along with Seungri and Yoo 90 A Burning sun employee Ahn who worked as a female Taiwanese investor s Korean guide was booked for embezzlement charges and the possibility of any Triad investments or organized crime connections were investigated with Interpol and other agencies 193 Burning Sun s female Taiwanese investor Lin was also booked on charges of embezzlement in collusion with Seungri and Yoo 195 Seungri was investigated for allegedly supplying prostitutes for investors sharing an illicit photo of a woman in Jung s chatroom giving concert tickets to a police officer Yoon and embezzlement of funds from the clubs Monkey Museum and the Burning Sun 41 44 196 197 198 199 Seungri s business partner and CEO of Yuri Holdings Yoo In seok age 34 was investigated for connections to Gangnam police officer Yoon embezzling Monkey Museum and the Burning Sun s funds and for supplying prostitutes along with Seungri 41 90 200 201 CEO s Lee Sung hyun and Lee Moon ho both age 29 were investigated for allegedly hiring minors as security guards and for bribing former Gangnam police officer Kang with 20 million won US 17 700 to cover up an underage drinking issue at the club the latter which Lee Sung hyun admitted to doing at a hearing for Kang 125 193 191 202 YG head Yang and singer Psy were questioned as witnesses about additional allegations of sex for favors involving Yang and foreign guests Jho Low and Chavanos Rattakul Allegations which they both denied and the case was eventually closed for lack of proof 107 108 203 112 Arrests related to Burning Sun included CEO Lee Moon ho who was detained and charged with drug use and distributing drugs to Burning Sun customers 204 Others included a Burning Sun board member Jang the alleged attacker of clubgoer Kim Sang kyo a chat group member named Kim who distributed illicit videos and a Club Arena security guard Yoon accused of attacking a guest in 2017 205 206 A Chinese promoter nicknamed Anna age 26 was investigated for drug use and distribution but no arrest was made 207 204 An owner of Arena Kang Mo age 46 and a puppet head of the club surnamed Lin were arrested on charges of tax evasion 45 208 alleged to have not paid taxes in the amount of 16 2 billion won US 14 31 million between 2014 2017 209 On April 11 SMPA said 59 persons had been apprehended related to drug use and distribution charges in the Burning Sun scandal and 11 were under arrest 90 Former Gangnam police officer Kang age 44 was arrested for allegations of brokering between the Burning Sun and other police officers 191 210 and booked for assisting with an underage drinking incident at the Burning Sun which co CEO Lee Sung hyun admitted to paying him for 125 210 211 Police firings and investigations included a senior superintendent Yoon who knew Yoo and assisted with the underage drinking incident and Monkey Museum s business zoning violations 212 and was charged with violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act for receiving concert tickets from Seungri 198 199 In peripheral investigations police announced over 500 drug related arrests on March 25 2019 after declaring total war against drug crime on February 25 due to the scandal at the Burning Sun Of the 523 arrests for the use and distribution of drugs 216 were detained 421 cases or 82 percent involved psychotomimetic drugs like GHB 213 a common date rape drug and one alleged to have been used at the Burning Sun 75 On May 30 SMPA reported to have arrested nearly 4 000 people at 148 entertainment establishments on drug related charges in the three month crackdown after the scandal started Some 920 of those were detained 886 for drug related crimes 23 for sexual assault or rape while under the influence of drugs and 11 for taking illegal videos during drug use Most were in their 20s and 30s and about 40 percent of the crimes involved the use of the drug ecstasy 214 Women s issues and public protests Edit Protest rally Sinnonhyeon Station Exit 6 Le Meridien Hotel Gangnam May 25 2019 The scandal ignited public protests early in March 2019 19 and later after police attempts to arrest Seungri and Yoo fell through A May 17 press conference held by women s rights groups in front of the SMPA criticized the results of the three month Burning Sun investigation conducted by some 152 officers as dismal with allegations of the club s cozy ties with police and the illegal filming of women and distribution still unresolved 2 Weekend rallies condemning the investigation s results started at the Blue House on May 19 215 216 and in Gangnam on May 25 217 Lee Taek kwang a professor at Kyung Hee University said The recent Burning Sun nightclub scandal exposed a culture that exploits women which has brought about public rage 218 Months later on November 6 members of seven civic and women s groups including the Green Party Korea and the Korean Cyber Sexual Violence Response Center KCSVRC held a press conference and protest in front of the SMPA Jongno gu building demanding the resignation of KNPA s Commissioner Min Gap ryong criticizing the police investigations of the Jang Ja yeon and Burning sun cases as biased and poorly conducted 219 The scandal added to ongoing discussions of women s issues in South Korea gender inequality the budding Me Too movement in South Korea feminism molka prostitution and the K pop industry s attitude towards women 9 220 South Korea s MeToo movement began in January 2018 and was followed by a students SchoolMeToo which became the most tweeted social issue in South Korea in 2018 followed by feminism then molka the abbreviation for spy cameras that are hidden in places such as public bathrooms and for the explicit videos later posted on porn sites 220 In July 2018 thousands marched in Seoul against spy cameras and the government responded by hiring workers to monitor public bathrooms but activists criticized a general dismissive attitude towards the crimes citing a deeply rooted gender inequality and misogyny in the country 221 A 2018 OECD ranking of the country at 30 out of 36 for women s employment exemplifed the country s gender pay gap while it ranked highly for women s education 222 Jung s distribution of sex videos was one of the top gender issues talked about on online platforms in South Korea for the first half of 2019 with research showing a growing trend of gender based topics most in a negative context 223 Talks included the K pop industry which critics had blamed for sexualizing women Jang Yun mi a spokesperson for the Korean Women Lawyer s Association said The industry in Korea is a boys club 224 Women s rights activist Bae Bok ju said of the spycam allegations in the scandal This case just shows that male K pop stars are no exception when it comes to being part of this very disturbing reality that exploits women 225 But Seoul freelance journalist Haeryun Kang opined in The Washington Post The most recent celebrity scandal has generated fury among so many Korean women not because it is unique but because the story goes far beyond K pop The patterns of male behavior feel disturbingly familiar The gender power dynamics that often objectify women into sex tools feel exhaustingly repetitive and said the scandal was more than misogyny and spy cameras but a larger story of the Burning Sun nighclub s alleged involvement in prostitution drug trafficking and police corruption 9 Effects on entertainment industry Edit Outside InsideGangnam nightclub Ultra Korea UMF 2012 after party at Club Ellui Seoul Between February 25 and March 15 2019 five major South Korean entertainment companies lost 17 52 percent in value with their market value dropping from 3 35 trillion won around US 2 96 billion to 2 76 trillion won Stocks dropped for the big three K pop management companies YG Entertainment Seungri s company 24 8 percent SM Entertainment 20 percent JYP Entertainment 5 5 percent and additional 20 percent drops for Cube Entertainment and FNC Entertainment 226 227 But on April 11 while the scandal was still under investigation entertainment companies were forecast by experts FinGuide Inc and a Hyundai Motor Securities analyst to post solid profit growth in 2019 with substantial operating profits for the three big labels while others added that K pop s financial reliance on YouTube was unlikely to be affected 228 However by September 16 YG Entertainment stocks had dropped by nearly half since January 7 229 Actress Park Han byul who married Yoo of Yuri Holdings in 2017 first stated that she knew nothing more than his being Seungri s business partner 230 but made a public apology on March 19 after it was reported that she and her husband had played golf previously with the high ranking police official under investigation for collusion with the nightclubs in the scandal She said she would not leave a major role in the television drama Love in Sadness 231 despite calls from some viewers for her to do so 73 YG Entertainment discontinued sales of merchandise featuring Seungri and major networks and cable companies deleted episodes of programs both Seungri and Jung had appeared in 232 In another YG Entertainment artist s scandal on June 12 2019 idol B I whose real name is Kim Han bin age 23 a songwriter and leader of K pop band iKon quit his group after the media outlet Dispatch revealed 2016 KakaoTalk messages of him attempting to purchase LSD from a suspected drug dealer which he admitted to YG Entertainment still under scrutiny for allegations concerning their former artist Seungri and head Yang in the Burning Sun scandal quickly ended their contract with B I stating their sense of responsibility in managing its associated artists 233 234 and Yang resigned from the agency on June 14 amidst allegations of police collusion to cover up the case 235 Seoul s EDM festivals responded that they would not hold after parties in 2019 in Gangnam s clubs due to the Burning Sun police investigation The festivals were often promoted in association with entertainment clubs and Ultra Korea Seoul World DJ Festival and Spectrum Dance Music Festival all held after parties in 2018 at the Burning Sun among other clubs An organizer for the largest Ultra Korea said that due to the scandal s allegations of sex crimes involving GHB or mulpong and cannabis use at festivals plans were being made to mobilize detection dogs bag checks and X rays for monitoring drug trafficking this year 236 Gangnam s nightclubs usually a pilgrimage site for K pop fans immediately saw a tapering of Chinese tourists 237 followed by a general decline of customers to nightclubs and lounge bars 209 238 Bars that were registered as general restaurants with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety where dancing is not allowed a tactic used by clubs in the Burning Sun scandal to avoid paying higher taxes underwent a strict monitoring causing a subdued atmosphere with Please do not dance signs posted and police checking in to enforce the rule 238 In late October France s Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs released an informational report not a travel alert for travelers to South Korea advising caution due to reported cases of GHB and assault drugs at clubs in Hongdae Itaewon and Gangnam following earlier French media reports of the Burning Sun scandal 239 After internet users raised rumors about the possible involvement of several actresses in the scandal Go Joon hee who was managed by YG Entertainment in 2015 first objected on social media then filed a libel suit for defamation against twelve of them citing damages to her career 232 240 and Han Hyo joo filed a criminal complaint against thirty three more 241 Other actresses and their agencies made denials and warned of legal actions 240 and at least seven which included college students the unemployed construction workers and one U S citizen were arrested and referred for prosecution 242 Some scenes from a 2019 South Korean film Quantum Physics about a celebrity drug scandal at a nightclub were filmed at the Burning Sun nightclub before it closed down Although it was not based on the real life scandal Director Lee Sung tae said he reconsidered one of the film s scenes as they were editing as it was ongoing 243 A November 2019 retrospective article written by Matthew Campbell and Sohee Kim for Bloomberg Businessweek pointed out that the K pop industry in general had ignored the scandal with no organized demands for better behavior from male stars or serious discussions about revamping how idols are trained They quoted a former SM Entertainment executive Jeong Chang hwan on its implicit impact It s a huge lesson in what not to do he says The best teacher for young idols is to see fellow idols get into a scandal and disappear from the industry 244 Public response EditAllegations of police misconduct and corruption in the scandal added public support to a government proposal to create an independent investigative agency first announced by President Moon in July 2017 and still undergoing political debate Proposed to uncover wrongdoing by high level government officials and their relatives with the power to take over prosecutions opponents had questioned its own potential for corruption 245 246 K pop fans reactions were mixed some called for YG Entertainment to remove Seungri from the group Big Bang for tarnishing the group s image and having used the group s celebrity to promote his business 247 even waiting outside his agency s office for an explanation 248 However other fans continued to support him 249 The public appeared to boycott a noodle chain called Aori Ramen between January and April 2019 according to multiple store owners who filed a compensation lawsuit in July blaming Seungri who had run and promoted the franchise for falling sales 250 Google Korea s most popular domestic searched terms for 2019 included Jung Joon young ranked at number two over all and number one for top public figure with Burning Sun ranked at number three for domestic news and issues 251 Yonhap News Agency editors selected the scandal as one of the top ten South Korean news stories of 2019 252 References Edit Kil 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28 2019 Retrieved April 26 2019 Jung Min ho September 18 2017 Gov t to create powerful investigative body The Korea Times Archived from the original on April 26 2019 Retrieved April 26 2019 Lee Min young March 10 2019 Angry fans urge YG to kick Seungri out of Big Bang The Korea Times Archived from the original on March 27 2019 Retrieved March 27 2019 Reuters March 15 2019 Sex lies and video Scandals rock K pop world The Japan Times Archived from the original on March 27 2019 Retrieved March 27 2019 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a last has generic name help Teng Yong Ping March 12 2019 K pop fans divided over scandal ridden Seungri s retirement from showbiz Yahoo News Archived from the original on March 29 2019 Retrieved March 29 2019 Kim Rahn July 30 2019 Seungri ramen restaurant owners file compensation suit The Korea Times Archived from the original on July 31 2019 Retrieved July 31 2019 Lee Jae eun December 11 2019 구글 올해 인기 검색어 1위 타노스 2위는 정준영 Newsis in Korean Archived from the original on April 21 2020 Retrieved December 12 2019 Top 10 Korean news of 2019 Yonhap News Agency December 18 2019 Archived from the original on April 20 2020 Retrieved January 10 2020 External links Edit Media related to Burning Sun scandal at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Burning Sun scandal amp oldid 1132070184, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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