MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CELEBRITY NEWS

Burning Sun scandal: Seungri to be released from prison after serving 1.5 years, Internet says 'lock him again'

Seungri was found guilty of all nine charges, including solicitation of illegal prostitution, illegal overseas gambling, abuse, threatening and embezzlement

SEOCHO, SEOUL: K-pop idol Seungri, a former member of South Korean boy band BIGBANG who was found guilty by a military court in the infamous 'Burning Sun' trial, will be released from prison on February 11, 2023. The 32-year-old was indicted for 9 criminal charges in January 2020, including solicitation of illegal prostitution, illegal overseas gambling, the spread of illegally filmed sexual content, embezzlement, threatening, and assault. During his initial military court trial in August 2021, Seungri was found guilty of all 9 charges and was sentenced to 3 years in prison. However, after filing an appeal, the High Military Court cut down his sentence to 1.5 years. 

According to Allkpop, in May 2022, the Supreme Court of South Korea finalized a sentence of one year and six months in jail for Seungri. Following the final sentencing, he was moved to the Yeoju Prison in Incheon from the Armed Forces Prison till February 2023, as earlier reported.

RELATED ARTICLES

Burning Sun scandal: Seungri sentenced to 3 years jail in prostitution and gambling case

Seungri to be moved to civilian prison after SC rejects his plea to reduce 18-month sentence

Why was Seungri arrested?

Born on December 12, 1990, as Lee Seung-Hyun, Seungri shot to fame in the mid-2000s as the youngest member of BIGBANG under YG Entertainment and tugged at fans' heartstrings after the band's second single 'Strong Baby' dropped. According to a previous report, he was accused of engaging in habitual gambling from 2013 to 2017 in various casinos in Las Vegas, US, while also being accused of arranging prostitution on several occasions for investors from Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong to attract investment from clubs and financial investment businesses. He was also accused of engaging in prostitution and spreading spy cam sex footage and embezzlement of huge sums of funds under the Burning Sun scandal of 2016.

In 2019, after allegations surfaced surrounding a nightclub named Burning Sun, which was founded in 2018 and managed by CEOs Lee Moon-ho and Lee Seong-Hyun, the singer was soon embroiled in a set of drug-related and prostitution allegations leading him to quit the industry. At that time, he wrote on Instagram, as quoted by Page Six, "I just cannot bear causing any further damage to people around me, while being hated and criticized by the public and being treated as a nation's enemy during the investigation." In 2020, he was indicted on prostitution and gambling charges, as per a CNN report. And in 2021, he was found guilty.

'Why is he being let out?'

Now, after the update on his release, there has been some degree of public displeasure. One of the netizens on Twitter questioned, "Why is he being let out???" Another wrote, "Wow, I didn’t completely follow up with this case so I thought he was in prison for just gambling, I didn’t know he was found guilty of all that. They shouldn’t release him…"

One more commented, "South Korea’s justice system is so weird and does nothing whatsoever. people who do drugs will get a bigger sentence than what he has done. disgusting." An individual asked, "Meanwhile for way less some got 2 years prison... What type of deal did this dude make????"

One of many said, "We don’t want him back", while another wrote, "Lock him up again and forever."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.