On the morning of February 9, 2023, Seungri’s, a.k.a. Lee Seung Hyun, a retired BigBang member, prolonged and controversial criminal case came to a close as he finished serving his prison sentence of 1 year and 6 months and re-entered society.
The Release
Initially, the media reported that Seungri’s expected release was on February 11. However, an official from the Ministry of Justice has confirmed, “Seungri was released from Yeoju prison this morning.”
The Charges
Seungri was prosecuted and found guilty on nine 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); Violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act (illegal monetary exchange), and Co-Principle in Violence (Co-defendant in aggravated assault).
The Previous Rulings
On August 12, 2021, after a military trial involving 26 hearings, Seungri was found guilty of nine charges, sentenced to three years in prison, and received a 1.15 billion won fine. Seungri maintained his innocence throughout his trial at the lower court. In an interesting turn of events, several of the Prosecution’s witnesses testified to Seungri’s innocence. However, during the ruling, the Judge decided that the discrepancy was not an indicator of police intimidation despite a few witnesses making that claim. The Judge’s ruling shows he ascribed this unreliability to Seungri. Furthermore, the order emphasized the charges of prostitution and prostitution mediation taking a firm moral stance during sentencing.
Despite giving Seungri a severe sentence in the case of prostitution, the court did acknowledge mitigating factors of 1) no previous criminal record; 2) for embezzlement, it was the largest shareholder Cheonwon Industry who asked for dividends on operating profits while other shareholders only received it; 3) for aggravated assault, the victim did not consider it a threat and didn’t want to punish Seungri.
Shortly after the original sentencing, Seungri filed his first appeal and was granted a hearing by the Military High Court. Seungri’s original sentence was then halved on January 26, 2022. During his first appeal hearing, Seungri pled guilty to all accounts and formally expressed regret and his intent to reflect on his actions and charges. The Military High Court determined that the original sentence was excessive and reduced the prison terms taking mitigating factors into account, citing Seungri’s demonstrated remorse. Furthermore, the High Court overturned the lower court’s order for Seungri to pay 1.15 billion won in restitution.
Later, on May 26, 2022, the Supreme Court of South Korea rejected Seungri’s second appeal for factual error, which claimed regular “Gambling” and not “Habitual Gambling,” upholding the 1 year and 6 month sentencing and judgement handed down by the Military High Court.
The Social Media Reactions
As with any high-profile case, Seungri’s criminal investigation, trial, and consequent imprisonment have given rise to heated fan and bystander reactions, especially on social media. Three notable camps have emerged. The first two are divided between those who believe in his factual innocence and support him versus those who think he is guilty and does not support him. The last group believes Seungri is partially innocent and partially guilty of only certain crimes.
As his release from prison drew nearer, social media activity heightened. There is a fear that Seungri will continue to face media and public scrutiny despite serving his time and paying the price. His fans and K-pop followers who were not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of his guilt hope he will get a second chance at life. They feel strongly that an innocent person has been wrongfully convicted and wish him a successful re-entry into society without undue bias.
However, the opposite is true for those who believed in his guilt. Adamantly, they think he is morally corrupt, and even if the law has punished him, society must continue to consider him a criminal element. This feeling is especially strong among Korean VIPs and Korean K-pop fans.
To further complicate matters, there is still much misinformation surrounding the facts of his criminal case, which contributes to the sometimes toxic battles fought on platforms such as Twitter.
The Misinformation
The gaps between Korean and English translations made it difficult for International secondary news media to report the case accurately. One must debunk myths associated with him to get a nuanced and unbiased view of Seungri’s case.
Seungri was not the owner of Burning Sun Club; he was, however, the face of the club due to his celebrity status. The police investigation proved that the initial allegation about the club was false. 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.
Additional misinformation arose when a Korean journalist released a story about Molka chat group (hidden camera), which alleged Seungri was a member of one group. A televised show from SBS media showed so-called chat screenshots of a chat, later revealed to be a “re-enactment” of possible conversations created by SBS. There were 23 investigated group chats, most of which were business-related chat groups. The group Seungri was a member of was a business group and not the Molka chat group. The Molka chat group participants were all arrested, charged, and sentenced for their crimes. After the Molka case ended, no media outlet, including SBS, made any effort to clarify that Seungri was not a part of the Molka case.
This misunderstanding was compounded by Seungri’s indictment for “sharing obscene material,” which was a charge for him sharing a nude exposed back photo on his business chat group. In court, he admitted to sharing one inappropriate but consensual picture sent to him by a friend. He was found guilty of that charge because pornography and sharing “obscene” materials of a “pornographic nature” are illegal in South Korea.
The Harsh Reality
Regardless of what camp readers may find themselves on while accessing Seungri’s case, the harsh reality is that he has been convicted of nine charges, he has served 18 months (1 year and 6 months) sentence in prison, he now has a criminal record, he will have to live with social stigma and be subject to South Korean cultural norms in how they view and treat people who were imprisoned. His re-entry into society will not be an easy journey for him.
The Musical Legacy
Despite his tarnished image and criminal record, his musical legacy cannot be denied. Before retirement, Seungri was BigBang’s maknae (youngest) member of one of South Korea’s most popular K-pop bands of his time. Seungri’s music might be subject to censorship due to his criminal record.
Yet, the fact remains that his artistry and career in the music industry have shaped 2nd generation K-pop music and influenced the evolution of 3rd and 4th generation K-pop groups. His fan base is international. Even today, people listen to Seungri’s music. As an artist, Seungri’s impact on the entertainment industry is significant. The heightened media and social media frenzy surrounding his criminal case these past few years and his release is proof of his enduring musical legacy.
Image credits: AP/Ahn Young-joon