Seungri's sentencing is the latest development in a years-long series of events tied to the shuttered Burning Sun nightclub, which previously operated in Seoul's Gangnam district.
Just days after the conviction of ex-Big Bang member, Seungri, for arranging prostitution and other charges stemming from a sex and drugs scandal by a military court in Korea, some fans are still convinced of his innocence.
Seungri was convicted of nine charges and among those are violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes, violation of the Food Sanitation Act, embezzlement, violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes, habitual gambling, violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, prostitution mediation, purchase of prostitution services, and special violence instigation.
He was convicted of arranging sex services for potential investors in his business, as well as overseas gambling at luxurious casinos in Las Vegas involving illicit foreign exchange transactions.
The court revealed that Seungri will now be facing three years of jail time and a 1.15 billion KRW ($990,000) fine. (See also: Ex-Big Bang member Seungri faces jail time in wake of ‘Burning Sun’ scandal )
Among the charges, Seungri has admitted to one and that is his violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.
Fans have rallied behind the K-pop star since the start of his trials in 2019. His longtime fans have demanded that he should be cleared of his charges.
A fan stated, "Stop witch hunting Seungri & direct your questions to these two cowards. They're the real CEOs & the ones who should be held responsible: Lee Sunghyun & Lee Moonho."
Lee Sunghyun and Lee Moonho co-founded and managed the nightclub Burning Sun together with Seungri.
In 2019, police came across evidence and secret KakaoTalk conversations of the K-pop star that clearly indicated drug abuse and arranging for sex workers to entertain their investors.
Fans have also pointed out how he was tested multiple times for drug charges but the tests came negative.
In the latest court hearing, Seungri’s lawyer presented a number of facts indicating and further trying to prove Seungri’s innocence.
However, it is not just his fans who believe in Seungri’s innocence.
According to a report in Allkpop last January 2021, it was reported that the prosecution and the police had allegedly redacted or changed witness statements made to the police during the investigation.
When the witnesses gave their testimony in court, it proved that Seungri was not involved in many of the charges for which he had been indicted.
Several witnesses allegedly testified that police applied pressure and led witnesses with their questions to make them imply things that were not true or not meant to be recorded as their statements.
"I didn't say they were gangsters, it was the POLICE who said they were gangsters" and "I never said it was Seungri's car, the POLICE wrote it that way!" The user wrote, "Police kept fabricating witnesses’ statements."
Seungri's sentencing is the latest development in a years-long series of events tied to the shuttered Burning Sun nightclub, which previously operated in Seoul's Gangnam district.
The Burning Sun scandal has been one of South Korea's biggest in the entertainment industry.
With one of K-Pop’s once brightest idols being faced with a conviction, K-Pop fans are faced with a big dilemma in believing the truth behind these grievous faults.
Tags: #Seungri, #BigBang, #BurningSun, #prostitution