Seungri Burning Sun Scandal

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Overview

Seungri Burning Sun Scandal refers to allegations against K-pop star and former member of the boy band Big Bang Seungri, real name Lee Seung-hyun, that he had engaged in arranging prostitution at the nightclub Burning Sun in Seoul, South Korea, where Seung-hyun was a public relations director. The allegations also include charges that Seung-hyun had captured videos and photos of sex acts without the consent of the women involved and distributed them among friends. Seung-hyun has denied the allegations, but nevertheless retired from Big Bang after the allegations came to light.

Background

On November 24th, 2018, a man identified as "Mr. Kim" was assaulted by security guards at Burning Sun. He alleges he was assaulted by security guards after defending a woman being sexually harassed.^[1] He further alleges police continued the assault afterwards and that police had been bribed by Burning Sun to turn a blind eye to the goings on in the club.^[2] On January 28th, 2019, CCTV footage of the assault was released publicly.

Additionally, on December 27th, 2018, a video in which a woman appeared to be drugged and dragged by the hair through the club was posted to YouTube by user ksk487,^[3] gaining over 1.1 million views. This along with allegations the staff at the club sexually assaulted women led to an investigation into Burning Sun.^[4]^[5]

Developments

On February 26th, 2019, Seoul police launched an investigation into claims Seungri had arranged to deliver prostitutes to investors in 2015 as CEO of Yoo of Yuri Holdings.^[6] Text messages between Seungri and an employee suggested that the two were planning to hire escort services for the investors. YG Entertainment, which manages Big Bang, denied the allegations. However, YG was accused of shredding evidence related to the allegations.^[7] There is video of the alleged destruction of evidence (shown below). Meanwhile, the Co-CEO of Burning Sun admitted to police bribery.^[8]

On March 10th, Seung-hyun was classified as a suspect in the ongoing case.^[9] The following day, he formally retired from the entertainment industry as a result of the case.^[10] Complicating matters is the fact Seung-hyun was set to begin his mandatory military service on March 25th. Police say they will be able to continue the investigation if he goes into service.^[11] Seung-hyun has also been accused of sending text messages between other men, including fellow K-pop star Jung Joon-young of the band Drug Restaurant, showing women in sex acts that do not know they're being filmed.^[12] These were released in a Twitter thread by @chuumings.^[13] Jung Joon-young also retired from entertainment after the scandal broke.^[14]

On Reddit, a timeline of all the details regarding the case has been regularly updated by user Dravvie in /r/kpop.^[15]