Ex-K-pop star Seungri was sentenced by a military court to three years in prison on Thursday for pimping and acts committed in connection with a sex and drug scandal, authorities said.
The 30-year-old singer of boy band Bigbang retired from the stage when the scandal erupted in 2019, then enlisted in the military as a conscript.
Bigbang was one of South Korea's most popular boy bands, and Seungri went on to grow into a wealthy businessman.
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The 30-year-old singer of boy band Bigbang retired from the stage when the scandal erupted in 2019, then enlisted in the military as a conscript.
Bigbang was one of South Korea's most popular boy bands, and Seungri went on to grow into a wealthy businessman.
Seungri, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, was convicted of illegal betting transactions in luxury Las Vegas casinos and of using prostitutes for people willing to invest in his company.
"
It is hard to believe that the accused was unaware of the money paid to women in exchange for sexual services,
" said Judge Hwang Min-je, whose words were reproduced in the press. .
"
It seems that he engaged in systematic sexual prostitution
", continued the magistrate. Seungri had altered his testimony during police questioning and in court, he added, saying he "
lacked credibility
". The singer was also ordered to pay 1.15 billion won (750,000 euros) in damages.
According to the prosecution, he arranged meetings between prostitutes and foreign investors 24 times over five months from September 2015. The scandal had also splashed other musicians as well as members of YG Entertainment, one of the most major South Korean producers. This led to the resignation last year of its CEO, Yang Hyun-suk, who himself is under investigation for illegal betting.
The judgment comes a month before the singer is released from his military obligations.
Any able-bodied South Korean must serve for 18 months before the age of 30, in a country facing the North Korean threat.
Unless the South Korean in question is a member of BTS, the latest global K-Pop phenomenon, whose members will not need to go military.
Seung, left, pictured with K-POP band Bigbang at the MTV music awards in Belfast in 2011. Carson Niall / PA Photos / ABACA