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Seungri's 3-year Burning Sun sentence has fans pointing out 'injustice' done to BTOB's Ilhoon

Fans are angry that Ilhoon was given two years for smoking marijuana - just a year less than that of Seungri, who was facing much graver offenses

The Burning Sun seems to have been put to an end after Seungri, K-pop idol and former member of Big Bang, was sentenced to three years over a host of illegal activities including gambling and prostitution.

It was reported on August 12 that he was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 1.15 billion won ($990,000); another ex-K-pop idol, Jung Joon Young, who was involved in the same scandal along with others, was sentenced to six years in prison for multiple charges. On May 12, 2020, Seoul High Court reduced Jung's sentence to five years after he submitted documents expressing his regret.

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

Ilhoon gets 2-year jail for marijuana use, BTOB fans say 'Himchan got 10 months' for sex assault

BTOB’s Ilhoon’s marijuana case

Seungri's sentencing has now drawn attention back to Jung Il-Hoon, a former member of the K-pop group BTOB. He was under investigation for purchasing and using marijuana over the past 4-5 years, after which he was charged for violating the Narcotics Control Act. Ilhoon submitted two statements of reflection on April 15, and attended the first trial on the morning of April 22, where he admitted to all the charges. On June 10, llhoon was sentenced to two years in prison for marijuana usage while being fined 1.33 million won ($1142).

How do they charge different offences in South Korea?

Seungri was sentenced to only three years in prison after being indicted for a whopping nine charges, which included embezzlement, habitual gambling and purchase of prostitution services. To be fair, Seungri had pleaded innocence multiple times and 7 witnesses also claimed that the prosecution botched up their statements to hold Seungri accountable. llhoon was sentenced to two years in prison on one count - illegal purchase and consumption of a large amount of marijuana, and which he confessed to.

Netizens are shocked by the differences in both these sentences as Ilhoon was not charged for financial, physical or emotional damage to another person as Seungri was. There is a lot of chatter going around the fact that prosecution sought 4 years for Ilhoon for smoking weed, while it sought just 5 years for all nine charges against Seungri.

Reports suggest that Joon Young and Ilhoon had both submitted documents of reflection and regret to the courts. Illhoon’s initial sentence for smoking marijuana, which was four years, was reduced to two years, while Joon Young, a sex offender, had one year reduced off his six-year sentence. If Seungri also provides documents expressing regret or asks for a re-appeal, there is a chance that his three-year sentence could be brought further down.

Fans are questioning South Korea's law and their standards for conviction

Netizens are now questioning the justice system of South Korea - a country where the crime of smoking marijuana is relatively on the same level as crimes like prostitution, gambling and embezzlement. Fans also noticed that one person charged for filming sexual activities and raping women had his charges reduced despite confession. Additionally, Big Bang’s fans think that the court was biased in the case of Seungri since he is a public figure.

One fan said, "Seungri: has multiple testimonies, piles of evidence and the decision of the Korean justice system against him Random kpoppie: seungri my little meow meow I know you are innocent."

A fans in support of Seungri said, "Just go live a peaceful life you five. nothing matters more than your happiness, do whatever you want, marry whoever you wanna marry, let go of us outside but we will never let go of each others' hand inside. i stand where i stand, BIGBANG IS FIVE & SEUNGRI IS INNOCENT."

Another said that the court ruled out witness testimonies, saying, "Everyone said “Seungri did not do it”, “he’s innocent” while the judges were like “nah! I believe he did it.” One fan said, "Even if you say that seungri claimed that he is innocent he was still declared guilty of ALL nine charges." 

One fan was upset that both Ilhoon and Seungri were wrongly convicted as they said, "They did it to Ilhoon. And now to Seungri. What's with these judges? I hoped for the best. And now my heart bleeds for the people who shouldn't even suffer like this."

Fans in support of Ilhoon said, "The way seungri only got one more year than ilhoon…. sick and disgusting." Another fan said, "No how did ilhoon get 2 years in prison for drugs but seungri only gets three years for what he’s done?" And another said, "Nah imma need SK to free Ilhoon and give Seungri his sentence also because ain’t no way the sentencing for smoking a lil weed and literally facilitating human trafficking can only have a difference of a year, ain’t no way." Another said, "Honestly sickening how ilhoon’s initial sentence was longer than seungri’s, that will never make sense to me."