Former K-pop singer jailed for three years over prostitution, fraud scandal

YG Entertainment

12/08/2021 12:36

By Minwoo Park
    SEOUL, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Former South Korean K-pop star
known as Seungri was sentenced to three years in prison and
fined nearly $1 million on Thursday after a court convicted him
of crimes including procuring prostitutes for potential
investors, local media reported. 
    The trial of Seungri, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, is
part of a far-reaching scandal involving a network of pop stars,
businessmen and cops alleged to have colluded and enabled tax
evasion, bribery, and prostitution at some of the glitziest
clubs in Seoul's swanky Gangnam district. 
    Lee, 30, a former member of hit group BIGBANG, was called up
for mandatory military service shortly after his indictment,
prompting his trial to be transferred to a military court.   
    The court found Lee guilty of nine charges, including
embezzling funds from the nightclubs, overseas gambling, and
procuring prostitutes for foreign investors in his business,
Yonhap reported. South Korean citizens are banned by law from
gambling at casinos even when travelling abroad.
    Lee, who appeared in uniform at the military court in
Yongin, south of Seoul, shook his head as he listened to the
sentence, which also included an order for him to pay a fine
worth 1.15 billion won ($990,000).
    Reuters attempts to reach the military court and Lee's
lawyer for comment were not immediately successful. Lee denied
most of the charges. 
    The scandal, which was centred around several nightclubs
that Lee was involved in, also swept up other K-pop stars,
including Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon, who in 2019 were
sentenced to six and five years in prison, respectively, after
they were convicted of gang-raping a woman.
    Jung was also found guilty of filming the assault and
distributing the footage, which came to light when police were
investigating Lee. Sentences for both Jung and Choi were later
reduced.
    YG Entertainment Inc, the agency that had represented Lee
until he was forced to quit the entertainment industry after the
allegations surfaced in March 2019, was not immediately
available for comment on the ruling.
    Lee made his official debut in August 2006 along with
BIGBANG's four other members: G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang and
Daesung. They are not implicated in the scandal.
    BIGBANG is still wildly popular despite the four remaining
members taking breaks for their military service, which all
completed in 2019. A comeback reunion was planned for the
Coachella music festival last year, but the event was cancelled
due to the pandemic.
($1 = 1,163.29 won)
    

 (Reporting by Minwoo Park, Writing by Karishma Singh
Editing by Josh Smith and Raissa Kasolowsky)
 ((Karishma.Singh@thomsonreuters.com;))