Big Bang Seungri Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Procuring Prostitution

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Seungri (real name Lee Seunghyun, 31), a former member of the group Big Bang, who was indicted on charges including arranging prostitution for foreign investors and overseas gambling worth around 2 billion KRW, was sentenced to three years in prison by a military court and was taken into custody in court.

The Ground Operations Command Ordinary Military Court (presiding judge Colonel Hwang Minje) on the 12th sentenced Seungri, who was indicted on nine charges including arranging prostitution, and ordered the confiscation of approximately 1.15 billion KRW.

The court stated, "The defendant, in collusion with Yoo In-seok, arranged prostitution multiple times for foreign investors and gained profits from it," adding, "The defendant's crimes, which commodify sex and harm public morals, cause significant social harm."

It continued, "Gambling by celebrities who attract public attention has a large ripple effect, undermining the sound work ethic of our society," and added, "The use of Burning Sun company assets as if they were the personal property of shareholders, and inciting assault simply because of a bad mood after a dispute, also reflect the poor nature and circumstances of the crimes."

Seungri was indicted for arranging prostitution multiple times and directly purchasing sex for investors from Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, and other countries from December 2015 to January of the following year to attract investment for clubs and financial investment businesses.

He is also accused of embezzling about 500 million KRW from the club Burning Sun's funds and gambling with approximately 2.2 billion KRW at a hotel casino in Las Vegas, USA.

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