Seungri's arrest warrant now includes crime of receiving, negotiating prostitution services
Seungri — the former member of boy band Big Bang — is now suspected of receiving as well as negotiating prostitution services.
On Thursday, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency revealed that their investigation has discovered that the former Big Bang member had allegedly received prostitution services at a hotel in Seoul around Christmas in 2015. It was previously reported that Seungri had allegedly negotiated escort services for overseas investors at a Christmas party.
The crime of soliciting prostitution has now been added to Seungri's arrest warrant request. The warrant previously listed procuring prostitution, embezzlement of funds through the club Burning Sun, breaking restaurant tax laws for the club Monkey Museum, and other charges.
Police stated, "We'll have to investigate the details of the dates and who was involved. We're confirming the overall facts."
Seungri's partner Yu (Yoo In Suk), co-founder of Yuri Holdings, had earlier confessed that the singer did solicit sexual escort services for Japanese investors and added that he paid for the same himself.
The reports emerged on April 25 after Seungri and Yu were called in for questioning by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on April 23 and 24, which is when they acquired this confession.
According to a report in SBS News, the police have also got proof for a transaction made at a hotel in Seoul where the investors stayed during the time period. Totaling 30 million won ($25,886), the payment was made using the actor's agency YG Entertainment's business card. The agency, however, said, "Personal expenses not related to SEUNGRI's work were paid by Seungri himself."
The police have also said that despite the strong allegations and this confession from Yu, Seungri continues to claim innocence regarding this issue. He did confess to providing accommodation for the Japanese investors but has said that he was not aware of prostitution or being a party to soliciting sexual escort services. The police, on the other hand, is continuing to investigate further instances of prostitution involving Seungri including his birthday party in 2017, which was held in Palawan, Philippines and prior to that in a club, in South Korea in 2015.
When the news of Seungri's involvement in soliciting sexual escort services broke and when his further involvement in the chat group surfaced, he issued an apology to his fans and announced his retirement from the entertainment industry. He had said, "I think I'd better leave the entertainment industry at this moment. 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."