Former BIGBANG member Seungri sentenced to 1.5 years in prison by SC of South Korea

Almost two months after globally acclaimed K-pop band BIGBANG made their highly anticipated comeback, former member Seungri reportedly received 18 month of jail sentence. The confirmation from the Supreme Court of Korea came four months after his sentence was reduced to one year and six months from three years along with a fine of 1,156,900,000 won (about $994,544). 

The singer, who retired from the entertainment industry as well as left his band BIGBANG in wake of the scandal, was accused of nine charges out of which, he admitted to a violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act and denied committing the rest of eight offences. However, the court convicted him guilty of all nine charges.

Former BIGBANG member Seungri sentenced to 18 months 

As per reports from South Korean media outlets Yonhap News and MBN, via Soompi, the 31-year-old's sentence was finalized by the Supreme Court of South Korea on May 26, 2022. The singer was found guilty of all nine offences including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes, violation of the Food Sanitation Act, embezzlement, violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes, habitual gambling, violation o the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, prostitution mediation, purchase of prostitution services, and special violence instigation. 

As per the outlet, Seungri was discharged from his mandatory military service in September last year but his discharge was postponed. He was held in a military prison from where he will be transferred to a private prison. The former K-pop idol will be serving the rest of his sentence there until February 2023. 

For the unversed, the scandal came to light when Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency reported about Seungri and his business partner Yoo In Suk (co-CEO of Yuri Holdings) using unethical ways to fund their business. From late 2015 to January next year, the singer was accused of mediating prostitutes to investors in order to attract funding. Following the scandal, he took to his social media to post a lengthy letter to his fans announcing his retirement from the entertainment industry and departure from BIGBANG. 

Image: Instagram/@kjnow96