Police raid K-pop agency YG Entertainment over illegal gambling allegations

The agency was founded by music mogul Yang Hyun-suk, who was placed under formal investigation earlier this week over the allegations

YG is one of South Korea’s top entertainment agencies, behind acts such as BigBang, BLACKPINK and Psy’s 2012 mega hit ‘Gangnam Style’

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Yang Hyun-suk, founder of YG Entertainment, pictured in 2013. Photo: AP

Published: 3:29pm, 17 Aug 2019Updated: 10:19pm, 17 Aug 2019

South Korean police raided one of the biggest K-pop management firms on Saturday as part of an investigation into allegations of illegal gambling by music mogul Yang Hyun-suk.

Yang, founder and ex-chief producer of YG Entertainment, resigned from his post in June after drug and sex scandals rocked the company since March.

He was placed under formal investigation by police earlier this week over allegations of gambling involving illicit cash exchange along with Seungri, a former member of YG’s highly popular band BigBang.

“We are trying to gather evidence on how [Yang] secured funds for gambling, and how many times the alleged gambling took place,” a Seoul police officer said on condition of anonymity.

Local news reports said Yang was alleged to have engaged in “habitual and illegal gambling”, in locations including Macau and Las Vegas since the early 2000s.

K-pop star Seungri has also been embroiled in the scandal. Photo: Reuters

Yang was also separately placed under investigation by police last month for allegedly arranging sex services for foreign investors back in 2014.