No crime stays hidden for long, especially if you live a public life. The latest one to hit the headlines and take Kpop fans by a storm is the scandal surrounding Kpop’s renowned band Big Bang’s youngest member Seungri.
Before EXO or BTS became sensational, Big Bang was the top dog of Kpop. Seungri, the maknae of the group, was always seen being playful and lightening up the mood. The vocalist is now caught in allegations of illegal prostitution and circulation of pornography. After the news spread on social media, the Singer announced his retirement from the Entertainment industry.
Where It All Began:
From all the investigation that I could do based on the information available in the white web, the misfortunes began with a complained about an assault on a customer by the staff of the “Burning Sun” club.
During the investigation, footage surfaced of use of drugs and sexual misconduct on female customers of the club. Even though Seungri claimed that he was just an Executive Director and was involved only in the publicity of the club but not in day-to-day operations, he still posted a formal apology regarding the matter. This matter spanning from early January 2019 to February and if the singer had thought his sufferings were over, he was mighty mistaken.
March began with news of investigation of a KaKao Chat group formed by Seungri with artists of other boy band and solo artists. This revelation was made by SBS FunE. Neither the police nor the netizens would have bothered if it was just a group of guys talking about how stressful it is to live a celebrity life. Instead, the group was said to be formed in order to share inappropriate images and videos of women whom the members fraternised with. Also, these images were shared without the consent of the involved women. Seungri is also said to be involved in supplying prostitutes to businessmen in Seoul night clubs.
About the controversial Kakao Talk Chat Group:
It is said that there were 8 members in this group including the singer and an employee of club ARENA. Other celebrities names connected to this group are Jung Joon Young, Junhyung (Member of Highlight), Choi Jong Hoon (member of F.T. Island) and Kang Daniel. The agencies of all these artists have denied the claims, while assuring to get clarification regarding the matter from the respective artists. After police confirmed the legitimacy of claims against Seungri regarding the chatroom, the Big Bang member took on the social media to announce his retirement in order to preserve the integrity of the band members and his agency, YG Entertainment.
YG Entertainment:
Yang Hyun Suk, the CEO of YG Entertainment, has held his peace but the agency put out a statement saying that the retirement comments were entirely the singer’s own choice and that he did not consult the agency regarding the same. The agency clarified that it is yet to make a decision regarding the future of the artist with them. Following this, YG Entertainment’s stock fell by 14% on 11th March.
How did Media Know about the Chat Group?
The twist in this story doesn’t end here. Apparently, there are reports stating that the existence of this group came into light when one of the members of this chatroom was getting his cell phone repaired. The repairing servicemen leaked it to media which surely raises questions of privacy amidst this shocking exposé.
Other Major Contributors in this Controversy:
A) Jung Joon Young (JJY)
Jung Joon Young caught his fame through MNET’s Superstar K4 (2012). Even though the singer took third position in the finals, his cover of Sympathy made an impression on all. Following which he released mini-albums, became a part of 2 Days 1 Night TV show and lead vocalist to rock band- Drug Restaurant. The singer took a break from his TV show following the investigation on claims made by his ex-girlfriend of sexual abuse in 2016. The same was withdrawn a few days later and JJY returned to the show.
In the recent controversy involving the Kakao chat room, the year 2016 is dragged again in relation to JJY. Dating back to 27th January 2016, when Zico (Member of Block B) and JJY appeared on MBC’s Radio Star and Zico mentioned about the “Golden Phone” owned by JJY. Zico made it very specific that it was unlike the regular phones and that the phone was used only for Kakao Talk. When Zico asked him if he still owned the phone, JJY got shy and replied that he did have it.
JJY also added that Zico would come to his house and ask for the golden phone and lay on his bed while going through the phone. During that time netizens didn’t ponder much on this golden phone but now it makes more sense.
Reports have it that JJY has shared more than 8 hidden camera videos of women in the group made by Seungri and in 1-to-1 conversation with other celebrities friends starting from late 2015 to late 2016. He also shared discreet images of a female employee during the same period.
B) Choi Jong Hoon (CJH)
The F.T. Island guitarist was brought into light with regards to this controversy by Channel A News. They published blurred images of two artists whom netizens identified as JJY and CJH. CJH is said to be a very close friend of Seungri and the two have been business partners in multiple ventures.
There has not been any explicit evidence to his participation in sharing any videos but the channel claims of him to be a member of the chat group. This wouldn’t be his first encounter with such an issue. Like his friend JJY, CJH has been accused by a woman of sexual assault. She was threatened and forced to send him discreet images of herself back when she was in sixth grade and the guitarist was in middle school. This allegation was made during the recent ‘Me Too’ drive.
What lies ahead for Seungri, JJY and CJH?
Seungri has been prohibited from leaving the country and the upcoming Big Bang concerts have been cancelled. The singer said that he was retiring from the entertainment industry as this controversy is too much to handle. He is being investigated by the police with regards to the allegations.
As of now, JJY is in USA with regards to his work and has been asked to come back to South Korea at the earliest for investigation. He had tours lined up for coming months which have been cancelled and 2 Days 1 Night TV show producers have confirmed the exit of the singer from the show and any footage regarding him will be edited out.
And for CJH, there has not been any statement from his agency as this discovery is the latest in this scandal.
If any of the above mentioned artists are found to be guilty of supplying indecent images and videos of women without consent then they could face jail time of 3-5 years and a penalty fee upto 30 million won. Not to state the obvious, their music career is buried.
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