Challenged K-pop Artist Seungri Heading to Jail for Gaming, Other Charges

Former K-pop star Seungri was sentenced to 3 years of incarceration after being found guilty Thursday on gaming, prostitution, and other counts.

Officially referred to as Lee Seung-Hyun, a South Korean military judge discovered that the 30-year-old stole cash from his club to gamble.

The report said that most of his video gaming spree took place in Las Vegas between 2013 and 2017. It was alleged Seungri and a service partner, Yang Hyun-suk, spent millions on trips to Las Vegas video gaming homes.

Throughout one check out to the MGM Grand, the duo played high-stakes baccarat for around $3,300 per hand, eventually wagering over $3 million throughout the session. Seungri and Yang gambled independently one or two times a year starting in 2014.

South Korea’s government disallows its residents’ gambling in foreign nations and almost all domestic video gaming homes.

In total, Seungri was founded guilty in South Korea on nine counts, the New York Post reported. Among the charges connected to gambling with taken funds.

CNN said that some other counts connect to organizing prostitution for possible investors in the now-defunct club where he was a principal shareholder. The club was called the Burning Sun. He found it in Seoul’s Gangnam District.

The affluent investors were from such nations as Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong.

Supposed Misdeed at Seoul Nightclub

Based on their examination, Seoul cops declared the club was ripe with bribery, drug trafficking, arranging prostitution, sex attacks, and violence, CNN reported. During the last couple of years, the report adds that ladies stated they were drugged and assaulted at the bar.

It is difficult to see the offender was not aware of financial payments paid to the ladies for sex,” Judge Hwang Min-Je said in declarations priced quote by Asian media during the sentencing. “It appears that he performed systematic sexual prostitution.”

In addition to the prison time, Seungri needs to pay 1.15 billion won. That is equal to roughly US $989 million.

He denied the majority of allegations made against him throughout the trial, the BBC stated. However, the judge questioned his reliability.

The BBC includes that a military court heard the case since Seungri got into the South Korean army in 2020. South Korea has the necessary military service for male people.

Kings of K-Pop

Earlier, Seungri was carried out in a band called Big Bang. The group was extremely popular and sold more than 150 million records.

They are credited as being the “Kings of K-pop.” He was a soloist with the group and performed in the band between 2006 and 2019.

In 2019, Seungri left the band as allegations emerged of misdeed.