"The reason why some media outlets' attitudes have not changed even after Seungri's trial is surprising is because the trial found Seungri had nothing to do with the Burning Sun incident." x
The "Burning Sun Scandal" was started by Kim Sang-kyo who "raised suspicions of sexual violence, prostitution, and police collusion at the club through his Instagram and a petition to the Blue House after being assaulted at the club 'Burning Sun'" in November 2018 when he was thrown out. x
Police investigated Burning Sun and found no evidence of Kim's claims. x x
The investigation revealed that the so-called "Burning Sun Whistleblower" Kim Sang-kyo was thrown out of Burning Sun for sexually assaulting several women. He was caught on CCTV, and four victims gave testimony to police. He was charged with sexual molestation, obstructing business by force and defamation for his statements regarding Burning Sun (i.e., he made up the "Burning Sun Scandal"). x
One victim stated in her interview "Mr. Kim was reporting false facts through the media and lying about collusion between the police and the club, and police assault" and "I’m so angry. He claims that he saved me from being dragged away by club officials, but he keeps telling stories that make it impossible to know when (Mr. Kim) helped me and when I asked for help. He's making up stories like the one where he was assaulted while trying to save a woman, and it's all lies" and "Mr. Kim is causing harm to so many people right now. He deceived the entire nation." x
All that said, Burning Sun was not even "Seungri's club." Yuri Holdings (Seungri's former joint company) was a 20% shareholder; Seungri's share in the club amounted to 8%. x
A Burning Sun co-CEO stated "Seungri only helped as a consultant and assisted us in contacting foreign DJs for Burning Sun, he did not intervene in the actual management of the club." x
"Seungri was never accused of rape, sexual harassment, or other sexual assault. These offenses were never mentioned in police reports, the press, or court. Seungri is only associated with the word “rape” due to misinformation spread through social media and third-party articles using unconfirmed secondary sources and poor translations." x
Seungri's 9 actual charges are: 1) violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes, 2) violation of Food Sanitation Act, 3) embezzlement, 4) violation of the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, 5) habitual gambling, 6) violation of Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, 7) prostitution mediation, 8) purchase of prostitution services, and 9) special violence instigation
Explanation of what the charges mean here x
At his first hearing, Seungri admitted to the single charge of violation of Foreign Exchange Transactions Act (borrowing US dollars for gambling and repaying the money in Korean Won). Seungri denied all other charges. x
All witnesses testified during Seungri's trial that the prostitution orders came from Yoo In-Seok:
“It was Yoo In-seok’s instructions (not Seungri), and I just did what he told me to” x
“It was Yoo In-seok’s order” x
“I cooperated without refusing because it was Yoo In-seok’s request. Yoo In-seok did not say to whom he was sending the money. I’ve never heard of anyone related with Seungri.”
“I’ve never had that (prostitution-related) kind of conversation with Seungri.”
“He [Yoo In-seok] didn’t want to reveal that he was sending (a prostitute) and because I wanted to keep my trust with Yoo In-seok, I wouldn’t let (Seungri) know.”
“All of this was at Yoo In-seok’s request. Even if I answered that Seungri had never requested, the question kept coming in as ‘Seungri and Yoo In-seok.’” x
“I’ve never heard of any mention related to Seungri.”
“All contact was with Ms. A, and when I asked for the payment, the money came under the name of Ms. A’s acquaintance, Yoo In-seok.” x
“I haven’t heard anything about prostitutes that is related to Seungri.” x
“Seungri didn’t give any instructions, and I never even had a conversation (with him).” x
Seungri's charge of violation of the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes resulted from sending a promotional picture of 3 women's naked backs he received via WeChat. He did not take the picture. "I thoughtlessly uploaded a picture from a spam text message I received on SNS from an employee of an adult entertainment establishment in China to a group chatroom." x
Court testimony by the prosecution's witnesses did not support the ruling. Many also mentioned pressure to give untrue statements by the police, or that their statements were altered. x
"Even after the military prosecutors' primary questioning and the defense attorneys' cross-examination, the military judge, who could not find a clear criminal connection to Seungri, repeatedly questioned him again" x
"However, on this sentencing date, it felt as if the in-court testimonies by Seungri and the witnesses for the past 11 months disappeared just like that. The disputed contents of the police testimonies were brought up again, and the presiding judge read out contents that the witnesses disagreed with as if it was the truth." x
Translations of all of Seungri's court hearings x
The Blue Phoenix Youtube channel has one of the most comprehensive explanations of the scandal x
I still support Seungri because I don't have a compelling reason not to.
