Money Today Reporter Park Hyo-joo | 2023.02.12 15:28
Seungri (real name Lee Seung-hyun), a former member of the group Big Bang, who was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison for charges such as arranging prostitution, was released from prison at the end of the term, and a verdict containing details of his crimes was released.
On the 10th, JTBC released the verdict of Seungri, who was released from prison following serving his sentence on the morning of the 9th.
According to the ruling, Seungri is accused of arranging prostitution for foreign investors on a total of 24 occasions from September 2015 to January 2016, and prostitution with two women on two occasions from September 2015 to December of the same year.
Seungri’s sex reception started at Incheon International Airport. At the end of December 2015, two brothers of Japanese investors came to Korea to meet Seungri. At that time, it was revealed that Seungri arranged for group prostitution in a luxury car that transported the Japanese brothers from Incheon International Airport to the Seoul hotel, and continued to provide sexual entertainment even following arriving at the hotel.
The number of times Seungri provided sexual entertainment to investors in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, as well as domestic investors in the first two months of December 2015 reached 29 times. The venues were various, such as hotels, houses, and restaurants, and the court admitted that Seungri spent regarding 43 million won for sexual entertainment.
At the trial, Seungri’s side insisted, “We did not participate in prostitution arrangements.” However, the judge did not accept Seungri’s argument, saying, “Seungri shared or was reported to each situation (related to sexual entertainment) and was mostly present at places where prostitutes were present.”
In addition, in December 2016, Seungri is accused of sending naked pictures of three Chinese women whose names are unknown to five men, including singer Jung Joon-young, via mobile messenger. It turns out that this photo was taken following Seungri finished a Big Bang fan meeting tour in China in June 2016.
Regarding this, Seungri’s side explained, “It was uploaded from Madame Singapore, not filmed directly.” However, the judge found him guilty, saying, “If you look at the testimony of those around you and the context of the conversation at the time, you cannot accept Seungri’s argument.”
The content also spread to China, and was searched more than 2.8 million times on Baidu, China’s largest portal site, and became a popular search term.
Some local netizens demeaned the women involved in this incident and poured out mockery, saying, “Women who were beaten by Kim Chi-guk (Korean derogatory expression) men.”
He also pointed out, “Korea should also use this opportunity to launch a large-scale operation to wipe out criminal groups. The fall of Seungri will soon serve as an opportunity for the popularity of the Korean entertainment industry in China to fall to the ground.”
Meanwhile, Seungri’s lawyer, who was released from prison, told JTBC, “Currently, I’m self-reflection and having time to reflect and reflect.”
[저작권자 @머니투데이, 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
