The K-pop industry has been turned upside down, following the recent scandal surrounding Seungri and other high-profile celebrities.
The former BigBang maknae recently submitted a request to delay his enlistment date for the ongoing investigation. Besides allegedly providing prostitutes to his rich clients in order to close deals, Seungri has also been accused of “drug use, sexual assault, tax evasion, and having cosy ties with law enforcement at the Burning Sun club (when he was an executive)”.
A number of K-pop idols have announced their retirement from the entertainment industry after their involvement with illicit sex videos were exposed. Some of these famous stars include:
- Jung Joon-young (정준영), who reportedly recorded himself having sex with various women and sharing them in an online group chat without consent.
- Yong Jun-hyung (용준형) from Highlight (formerly known as Beast), admitted to watching videos shared by Jung Joon-young.
- Choi Jong-hoon (최종훈) from FT Island, was also in the online group chat.
Evidence of their group messages KaKao Talk chats, where they talked about drugs, rape, and usage of hidden cameras to record sexual acts. SBS TV obtained the text messages (between December 2015 till April 2016) and provided the translated transcripts.
You may check them out below:
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In addition, the boss of BigBang’s agency, YG Entertainment, has also come under fire. Since the scandal made headlines, the company has taken a 25% hit in share price. As a result, investors are putting the blame on chief executive Yang Hyun-suk for not supervising the artists under him properly.
Earlier today, All K-pop posted a video by Henry Prince Mak who compiled old clips of Big Bang members warning Seungri about his behaviour for fear that he could sabotage BigBang’s career.
During the “Radio Star” moment, a member also pointed out that Seungri has placed himself in a “dangerous position” because of the types of people he associates with. Towards the end, G-Dragon was shown writing a letter to future V.I.Ps (Big Bang fanclub), asking the fans to continue supporting BigBang “even if there are only four members left”.
Were the writings on the wall? This video may give you the chills:
Sources: AllKpop, Korea Times, Asia One.
