Seungri Appears in Court... Seems Ready to Speak but Ultimately Remains Silent

Seven Charges Including Procuring Sexual Services... Second Arrest Warrant Issued

Former Big Bang member Seungri (real name Lee Seung-hyun), who has been indicted on seven charges including habitual gambling and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, is entering the courtroom to attend the warrant hearing held on the 13th at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Singer Seungri (real name Lee Seunghyun), facing his second arrest, appeared at court on the morning of the 13th. He is undergoing a warrant hearing on charges including violation of the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes. Last May, a warrant was requested on charges including prostitution, mediation of prostitution, and violation of the Food Sanitation Act, but it was dismissed by the court.

Seungri arrived at the Seoul Central District Court at around 10:05 a.m. that day and did not respond at all to reporters' questions such as "You are standing at the photo line again, do you have anything to say to the public?" and "Do you admit the charges?" He hesitated as if to speak but immediately entered the courtroom. The warrant hearing for Seungri began at 10:30 a.m. under the presiding judge Song Kyungho, who is in charge of warrants. The decision on detention is expected to be made late that night.

The prosecution, which took over the "Burning Sun incident" investigation from the police, requested an arrest warrant for Seungri on the 8th. The warrant listed seven charges including overseas gambling worth about 1 billion won and mediation of prostitution. Specifically, he is accused of gambling several times with former YG Entertainment CEO and producer Yang Hyunseok at hotel casinos in Las Vegas, USA, for about three and a half years from December 2013. From September 2015 to January 2016, he is also accused of mediating prostitution for overseas investors. Regarding the Burning Sun incident, the prosecution last year indicted on detention charges Yoon Kyugeun, a police superintendent suspected of collusion with Seungri’s side, and Jeong Mo, former CEO of Nokwon CNI (formerly Cube S), a special ink manufacturer who introduced Superintendent Yoon to Seungri’s side.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.