A South Korean military court sentenced disgraced K-pop star Seungri to three years in prison for crimes involving prostitution to foreign businessmen.
The Defense Ministry said the former member of popular boy band Big Bang was also fined 1.15 billion won ($ 989,000). He was taken into custody after being sentenced by an army court in Yongin, near Seoul.
Seungri, whose real name is Lee Seung Hyun, was indicted in January 2020 on multiple counts, including organizing illegal sex work for business investors from Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong between 2015 and 2016. He was also found guilty of embezzling funds from the Seoul nightclub he operated and violating laws prohibiting overseas gambling. The musician denied most of the charges.
His case went to a military court after Seungri was enlisted in the 21-month military service last March, which is mandatory for most able-bodied men in South Korea.
News Agency Yonhap reported that Seungri showed up in military uniform and shook his head several times as the judge announced the verdict.
Before becoming one of the faces of the so-called «Burning Sunshine, Lee Seung Hyun was one of the biggest stars in the K-pop industry thanks to the huge success of Big Bang, who debuted in 2006. Forbes magazine reported in 2016 that the group had a pre-tax profit of $ 44 million a year earlier.
Seungri left the group in 2019 after media reports reported on charges of prostitution. Throughout the trial, prosecutors said he “did not show remorse” and “shifted the blame onto others, despite the profit he received” from illegal actions.
