On September 16, Seungri categorically denied all charges except one. The defense proclaimed, “We deny all charges except his violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.”
Seungri began his trial at the Ground Operations Command’s General Military Court in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do. He entered the court for his 1st hearing with his lawyer, Son Byung-ho, five minutes before the proceedings started.
Retired BigBang member Seungri (Lee Seunghyun), is currently serving as a private soldier in South Korea’s 5th Artillery Brigade, under the 5th Army Corps. Sporting short, neat hair, he was dressed in military combat uniform with a Special Warrior 특급전사 badge above his troop insignia when he went to court.
The Special Warrior designation is granted by the Military to soldiers whose performances excel in seven key areas of physical strength, mental power, shooting, first aid, boundary, chemical room, and individual battle. This designation indicates that Seungri possesses the highest level of combat power and mental acuity acknowledged by the ROK Army. His badge of honor symbolizes the best of the best and qualifies him for early promotion.
According to reports, throughout his hearing, Seungri sat upright and was attentive to the court proceedings. His body language revealed engagement, confidence, and respect for the court.
Seungri answered to eight indictments: Prostitution (for self); Prostitution Mediation (for others between Dec 2015-Jan 2016); Embezzlement (hiring legal representative fee); Embezzlement (528 million won involving Burning Sun revenues); Violation of Food Sanitation Act (involving Monkey Museum wrongfully registering business); Habitual Gambling (Las Vegas gambling); Distributing Obscene Material/Shooting using camera (single photo of pornographic nature); and Violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act(illegal monetary exchange).
Lawyer Son began by addressing the prostitution charges and stated, “The defendant (Seungri) has no motive to mediate prostitution. He did not play any role in Yoo In Suk’s prostitution mediation.” Furthermore, to the charge of procuring prostitution for himself, the defense asserted, “Seungri does not remember if he had intercourse with the woman in question, and he thought the woman was someone Yoo In Suk had sent because she simply wanted to meet him.”
According to South Korean law, intent and exchange of profit are critical factors determining if a person is criminally liable for prostitution. Similarly, intent and breach of trust are necessary embezzlement components to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. His lawyer explained that Seungri had no motive or intent to commit embezzlement.
For the charges of Violation of Food Sanitation Act, Seungri divulged, “To my knowledge, all problematic parts have been eliminated after receiving the corrective order. Because of my celebrity life, I was mainly abroad, so I could not check it myself.” However, he had received a report from an employee that he took corrective measures to satisfy the remedial order to fix the said violation.
Lawyer Son specified, “In order, for habitual gambling to be recognized, the court must consider not only the amount of money gambled, but all aspects including the total number of times gambled, duration, motive, and previous (gambling) conviction.” His lawyer stressed there was no sign of the habit. Seungri’s purpose of visit to the United States was not for gambling but work. He completed all scheduled activities during his stay.
On the allegations of distributing obscene (pornographic) material/shooting with camera, the defense clarified, “It wasn’t the picture that Seungri himself took, but a picture was sent from an entertainment bar (to him) which he shared in a chat room with friends.” Seungri claimed that he only shared a photo sent for the purpose of promoting entertainment bars.
The only indictment Seungri admitted was the charges of violating the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act. He stated, “I deeply reflect on it.”
Since the burden of proof is with the Prosecution, during Seungri’s trial, the Prosecution team must prove beyond a reasonable doubt each indictment; otherwise, they fail to meet the burden. In the South Korean court system, trials take place over several hearings.
In the next step, evidence will be presented and examined. It is a standard procedure that the Prosecution begins first with their examination of evidence that they feel relevant. Once completed, then the Defense will have their turn at the examination of the evidence.
For Seungri’s trial, the next hearing date is set for the morning of October 14th at the Ground Operations Command’s General Military Court in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do.
25 comments
Easy to understand, thorough with indictments and the defenses responses, and unbiased. Business mirror, thank you for being the only media who has reported this case on a fact based manner from the beginning. Thanks to this journalist we can get a better understand of South Korea laws and how it applies to his case.
Thank you for this clear article which details precisely what happened. Thank you because you are not giving a biased and partial opinion.
objective, provides good legal context while remaining easy to understand. thank you!
Having an unbiased source of information is vital in understanding this case.
Thank you for this article.
Thank you for this article! By the way, that Special Warrior badge is just wow!
Well-written and informative. Provides a lot of vital information and easy to understand too. Thank you for this article. This is what journalism is supposed to be.
Thanks for the clear translation & explanation of legal procedures.
I am glad to read an article about this case that is objective, based on facts and easy to comprehend. I think that there is nothing substantial against him, so i hope this young man will be able to live his life again.
Your work is very much appreciated. Looking forward to more updates. Thank you.
It is refreshing and clear to see that the journalist who has written this article took great care to explain step by step what had occurred during the trail and used their expertise of (Korean) law to help apply it to this (Seungri’s) case. It was easy to follow and understand what exactly the indictments are and the position the defence’s was taken on each one (separately). There was also a few minor details given here that I had not come across before or possibly was not understanding prior to reading this article such as what the Special Warrior Badge had meant (how one received it) and Seungri’s behaviour/attitude during the trail. I have to deeply thank you, Businessmirror for once again providing us with such an incredible article covering this specific case. It has been difficult to find any that have had the standard that you/the journalist have set!
Very clear information. Thank you for this article.
Thank you for putting it all in one place where it’s more easily understood. I can read and not have to work my way through all the gossip and sensationalism. It’s refreshing! Keep up the good work! I look forward to more coming from you!
This was very easy to understand. Big thanks to Business Mirror and the author.
Thank you, it was easy to read and understand . Seungri fighting , can’t wait till Oct14th
I’m curious how this is relevant to the Business Mirror readers? The article seems better suited to a fansite than to a business-themed publication, especially since it’s nothing more than a not particularly well written summing-up of articles already published elsewhere. Is the average Business Mirror consumer aware of or interested in Seungri or his legal troubles? I am a fan myself but I do not see the point of this article, on this website.
Is it relevant to BM readers? Yes. BM’s sound strip is dedicated to music news. It has over the years published many cases related to musical figures. Is the consumer aware or interested in Seungri? I think it should be obvious given that each of the Seungri articles on BM and other Music or non-music news media have all be a hot topic. Furthermore, just look at the comments? Do you really need to ask? Those following the case are grateful for one site that has consistently covered the Musicians legal cases with facts instead of wild speculations and misinformations.
His case involved embezzlement case and violation of Food and Sanitation Law. Half of his indictment are business related. Why do you think it’s not relevant here? Because you used to be a “fan” you think the article was about fangirling? It’s not only relevant, it’s important for people who are doing business to see how his case goes. The article was well written and you can’t simply focus just on business side of his case, it needs to be all complete and all about facts.
“I’m curious how this is relevant to the Business Mirror readers?”
This section of BM is all about Musical Journalism. The Business of Music is constantly evolving. The area of journalism covers all things music. Covering heavy subjects such as legal cases related to Musical groups or famous personalities is both relevant to current topics and more importantly relevant because it gives us a look at the Music Industry. The journalist here is faithfully reporting on his case and legal process helping us critically think and form our own minds about his case and the gravity of it to the music scene.
You can see, by the responses that BM’s Soundstrip readers are interested.
Thank you for this unbiased and professionally written piece. It was difficult to find unopinionated news regarding his case.
Your article is of professional standard. Throughout the case, this journalist has never offered facts that were not backed up by police, prosecution, or court official statements. She has maintained a high standard of journalism explaining the case in simple layman’s terms to the kpop music audience worldwide. Our understanding of how this case effects the musician has grown as a result and so has our understanding of his legal battle. BusinessMirror, journalism in music is more than covering a concert or it is telling the stories of the musicians. These stories influence music in society and our lives. You have done well having a diverse and complete Sound Strip section to explore Music and its many connections to our lives. Thank you and thank you to the journalist.
Thank you for giving us an unbiased and understandable article on Seungri’s legal case. I have read all the articles BM has published on the case and hope to read more about this topic in the future.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WRITING THE TRUTH AS CLEAR AS A CLEAN GLASS<3
also it's so well written👍🏻
*I really hope seunghyun will get back on his feet stronger mentally and physically and free, I really hope he gets back to continue living his life*
ps. not gonna lie I miss him and he's been on my mind since february last year even tho he's not my bias nor had a deep feelings towards him but since he's case and what he went through by these stupid s h i t s on the internet really changed me and now I really really really care about him to the point I think I love him….
Thank you for this understandable article. This case is so complicated and, so far, this is the first time I can read something clear and unbiased about this case. Thank you.
Thank you for actually writing about this, hope you can do the update after the october trial
Thank you for a clear article and not biased. Let’s all hope for seungri’s win on this case. 🙂 I have feeling that seungri is not guilty with the other 7 charges and he will rise up again. OUR GREAT SEUNGRI WILL COMEBACK SOON. <3 and thank you for keeping on supporting our maknae <3
Just asking if Military courts have jurisdiction over civil cases and tries civil offences. Since mandatory service is only for 2 years, does it mean that such hearings are also completed by the time the offending party is discharged from military duty?