Sex-scandal-hit K-pop star Seungri blames whistle-blower, journalist for allegations against him
- The former member of boy band Big Bang sends text to TV programme claiming the duo did not check their facts properly and have ruined his career
K-pop star Seungri, who resigned from the boy band Big Bang and quit show business after becoming embroiled in the sex and drugs scandal rocking South Korea, blames a whistle-blower and a journalist for all the criminal allegations made against him.
Seungri, 28, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, has been questioned by police after allegedly lobbying potential investors by offering them the services of prostitutes at nightclubs in Seoul.
It has been claimed that he helped to run Burning Sun nightclub, where staff are alleged to have filmed women with hidden cameras and used alcohol and drugs to sexually assault them.
The scandal also includes allegations that Seungri and singer-songwriter Jung Joon-young – who has also since quit show business – were part of the same KakaoTalk chat room group, where Jung allegedly shared videos of 10 women he had secretly filmed while having sex with them in 2015. Others in the chat room also reportedly shared illicit content and conversations about Seungri’s business dealings.
However, in a text message to a director of SBS’s investigative television programme, Unanswered Questions, Seungri claimed the whistle-blower and the journalist who played vital roles in bringing the issue to public attention did not check their facts properly. He also alleged they had ruined his career for their own personal gain.
“They illegally leaked my personal information from my mobile phone and framed the act as a tip-off done for the sake of justice,” Seungri alleged in the message he sent on Saturday. “The obscure lawyer had an interview with media … And the journalist reported the story without checking the facts properly, for her own benefit.
“Because I belonged to an agency, I could not refute those allegations effectively. I think they knew my situation and took advantage of it.”
In an interview with local daily newspaper, Chosun IIbo, Seungri denied the allegations of sexual and financial wrongdoings, and urged people to wait until the results of the police investigation had been made public.