Disgraced K-pop star Seungri admits guilt, sees jail term halved on appeal for his part in Burning Sun prostitution and embezzlement scandal

The former BigBang star, jailed for three years for charges including facilitating prostitution and embezzlement, acknowledged his guilt to an appeal court

The 31-year-old, who had denied eight of nine charges, saw his prison sentence for the crimes linked to the Burning Sun nightclub scandal reduced to 18 months

Reading Time:1 minute

Seungri, a former member of popular K-pop boy group Big Bang, has acknowledged his responsibility for crimes to which he had previously pleaded not guilty, and received a reduced jail term, at an appeal court hearing in South Korea. Photo: Yonhap/AFP

Published: 7:13pm, 27 Jan 2022

An appeal court in South Korea has halved the prison sentence of former pop star Seungri after he acknowledged he was guilty of crimes including facilitating prostitution and embezzlement, to which he had pleaded not guilty at his earlier trial.

The disgraced former member of K-pop boy band BigBang is reported to have expressed remorse for his actions in what became known as the Burning Sun scandal, named for a nightclub in Seoul.

In July, military court prosecutors reportedly declared the star had “shown no remorse and shifted blame to other people despite enjoying large benefits from his crimes”.

Born Lee Seung-hyun, Seungri, 31, pleaded guilty to only one of the nine charges he faced at trial in a lower court in August – violating foreign exchange policies related to overseas gambling.

Police take Seungri into custody following a court hearing in May 2019. Photo: AFP

That court convicted him on all counts, sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment and ordered him to pay 1.15 billion Korean won (US$1 million) in restitution. Following the court’s verdict he was imprisoned pending appeal.