A South Korean military court sentenced K-pop star Seungri to three years in prison after a prostitution-related scandal, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.
The former Big Bang member was found guilty of several crimes including arranging illegal sexual services for business investors from Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong. He was also convicted of embezzling funds from a Seoul nightclub he ran, as well as violating laws prohibiting overseas gambling by betting heavily at foreign casinos.
Seungri’s case was transferred to a military court after he enlisted in the army in March 2020 for 21 months as a requirement for every able-bodied citizen in South Korea due to the threat from North Korea.
Before his legal troubles, Seungri was the youngest member of the popular K-pop boy band Big Bang. From 2006 to 2019, the singer reportedly made millions of dollars before leaving the group after the prostitution accusations started to make headlines.
Seungri’s case is one of several scandals that have rocked South Korea’s entertainment industry. In 2019, singer Jung Joon-young received a six-year prison term and former boy band member Choi Jong-hoon got a five-year term after they were found guilty of illicit sexual relations with a woman who was unable to resist.
