Seungri opened up about the controversies surrounding him in an interview with Chosun Ilbo that was conducted on March 22 and published on March 23. He spoke on a number of topics including Burning Sun, prostitution service allegations, and connections to Senior Superintendent Yoon.

When asked why he wanted to do the interview, Seungri said, “To be honest, I don’t think I’m in the position to come out with a strong stance or say I am suffering from unfair treatment. I have acted in a way that is unsuitable for a public figure, and I became tied to wrongful businesses. However, I feel like what is reported right now is too far from the truth. I want to talk about the truth I know, and help the situation.”

Asked if the “Wrongful business” he was referring to was Burning Sun, Seungri said yes and explained how the misconception that he owns arose. He said, “I think it’s because I said in ‘I Live Alone’ and other programs that ‘I run all of my businesses and I’m the feet on the ground for them.’ The club and the hotel [investor Le Meridien] both wanted to attract a younger crowd, as well as foreigners, so my name and image were used in promotions, which probably helped fuel the misunderstanding. I enjoy being a DJ so I didn’t think it was a bad idea at the time, and because it was a club run at a hotel, I didn’t think anything bad would happen.”

Explaining that he met Lee Moon Ho, the CEO of Burning Sun, five years ago while at Club Arena, Seungri said, “CEOs Lee Sung Hyun and Lee Moon Ho were in charge of everything from management to finances and employees. I’ve never been to a meeting for Burning Sun, nor have I received a list of employees or calculated their wages. I really was just the face of the club. All I did was lend my name and invest 10 million won (approximately $8,800) through Yuri Holdings.”

He said that he had never been briefed about illegal activities in the club, such as minors entering or people using drugs, and he was confused when he later learned about the allegations of date rape drugs and sexual assault videos as well. Regarding the allegations of tax evasion Burning Sun faces on top of all the other charges, Seungri said, “If they did do that, then I’m also a victim as a shareholder. I didn’t know anything, all I did was promote for them.”

When asked why he initially said the text messages he shared in the group chatroom with Jung Joon Young were fabricated, Seungri replied, “They were from 2015. How can you remember text messages from three years ago? I really couldn’t remember them. I couldn’t believe I would say something like what was being alleged. None of the conversations had time stamps, and no context. I truly believed they were fabricated.”

When asked about the allegations of prostitution services, Seungri replied, “In the Club Arena case, it’s regarding a woman from Singapore called Kimmy. She’s the daughter of a famous soccer club owner. I’ve received a lot of help from her, so I just wanted to look out for her.” He denied, as did his lawyer in a previous interview, that the women who were invited were prostitutes.

With regards to the controversy alleging prostitution mediation on a trip to Indonesia, Seungri said, “I had invested two billion won (approximately $1.8 million) through him and hadn’t received it back. I needed to be on his good side. He asked me to introduce someone to accompany him on a visit to king of Indonesia. He said he wanted to set aside some spending money for his companion and asked if 10 million won would be enough. I repeated the amount to ask for clarification, and that’s it. But then he later told me he’d figure it out himself and just canceled.” Seungri added, “I never ended up getting my investment back. I pressed charges against him in 2015 but he threatened to take the story to the media, so I had to cancel my charges.”

About knowing Senior Superintendent Yoon, who is accused of using his position to help cover up crimes, Seungri said, “Yoo In Suk introduced him to me as a ‘good person.’ I was just told that he worked at the Blue House, so we had a meal together. We met a total of four times after that till last winter. We never talked about clubs, he liked to talk about history. I didn’t even know he was a police officer. He didn’t know BIGBANG but said he started listening to BIGBANG songs after knowing me. Choi Jong Hoon golfed with him but I never did. There was never any bribery going on. Even when Yoo In Suk tried to pay for meals, he’d get angry and say he’d get in trouble so he paid for everything himself.

He also responded to questions of why he or any of the other people in the chatroom never reprimanded Jung Joon Young for the illegal videos he was posting. Seungri said, “Those messages aren’t my entire life. Of course I asked him to stop. When we met offline, I told him to stop and said he’d be in big trouble. I said that to all of them, not just Jung Joon Young. It was just never through text conversations.”

Finally, Seungri ended the interview by saying, “My only hope is that the investigation and results are seen with an objective eye. These days, people are tying everything from YG to Choi Soon Sil, BIGBANG, Kim Hak Ui, Hwang Kyo Ahn, and others. But I’m just a celebrity. I don’t know those people at all. This was a situation that occurred at a club, but people are tying it to politics and creating a completely new narrative and that’s scary. I’m confused. I’m just telling the truth, and I’m helping with the investigation as much as I can. I just wish things will calm down until the investigation is over and people will see what’s going on with an objective eye.”

Seungri said, “I am so apologetic to the fans and public, my former agency YG, and my teammates who have been with me for over 10 years. No matter what the outcome of the investigation, I believe I will bear this for the rest of my life. I will reflect. Seeing how my wrongful actions from a few years ago have caused such a big situation, I find myself so pathetic and shameful. I hope everything is resolved soon so the public will no longer be inconvenienced.”

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As part of the police’s continuing investigation into Senior Superintendent Yoon, Seungri has denied suspicions of him bribing the police officer.

On March 22, SBS’s “8 O’Clock News” gave a report on the police’s investigation into the connection between Senior Superintendent Yoon and the members of the group chatroom. Yoon allegedly was involved in the cover up of Choi Jong Hoon’s drunk driving incident in 2016 and also leaking confidential information in regards to the investigation of Food Sanitation Law violations by Seungri’s club Monkey Museum.

The police’s investigation is currently focused on finding out whether Yoon intervened in relation to the investigation of the illegal operations of Monkey Museum, in which Seungri received a favorable legal outcome. Seungri has admitted to knowing that it was illegal for the club to have been registered as a “general restaurant” instead of an “entertainment bar.” There are suspicions that the club was registered as a general restaurant in order to pay lower taxes.

SBS reports that Yoon has continued to deny all charges. It’s said that those in charge of the investigation at the time stated that they misunderstood the law and they didn’t know Yoon.

In addition, during a session of questioning by the police on March 21, Seungri stated, “It’s true that I’ve had dinner with Yoon, but Yoon always paid for the meal himself.”

Analysis of Yoon’s phone has also not turned up anything of significance, and it was revealed in this process that Yoon often used Telegram, which allows the deletion of past conversations.

The police recently received an email response from Yoon’s wife, Chief Superintendent Kim, and they are currently reviewing it.

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On March 22, a source from the police said, “Jung Joon Young will be transferred into a detention center by 9 p.m. KST.” The police further stated that the singer will be staying at the Seoul Southern Detention Center.

Jung Joon Young was interrogated at the Seoul Central District Court the day prior, after which the court issued an arrest warrant for him regarding charges of filming and sharing hidden camera videos.

Following the interrogation, it was reported that the singer got out of a holding cell at a police station and was staying at his home in the neighborhood of Chungdam while receiving personal protection from the police.

A holding cell at a police station temporarily places people who have been arrested by the police, until there is an arrest warrant issued. However, a detention center holds official suspects whose investigations and trials are ongoing, but they have not received a final sentence from court.

Jung Joon Young’s act of filming and sharing hidden camera videos first came to light due to a report from SBS’s “8 O’Clock News” on March 11, during which the outlet also reported on chatrooms including Jung Joon Young, Seungri, Choi Jong Hoon, and five other participants. In the chatrooms, the participants allegedly solicited prostitution, discussed bribing police officers to cover up crimes, and more.

Other allegations made against Jung Joon Young include the singer receiving prostitution services as a gift from former Yuri Holdings CEO Yoo In Suk and using his ties to the police to get rid of the key evidence to his 2016 case against his ex-girlfriend. It was further reported that Jung Joon Young was being investigated by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency about hidden camera footage in November 2018.

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Top Photo Credit: Xportsnews

KBS News reports that Seungri admitted to prior knowledge of Monkey Museum’s illegal operations during his fourth round of questioning by the police.

On March 21, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Provincial Special Detective Division booked Seungri on charges of violating the Food Sanitation Act and privately summoned him for questioning on the illegal operations of the club Monkey Museum. Seungri established the club in 2016 in partnership with former Yuri Holdings CEO Yoo In Suk.

The club was first registered as a general restaurant instead of an entertainment bar when it opened. According to Article 21 in the Enforcement Decree of Food Sanitation Law, a “general restaurant” is a “business of cooking and selling food, where drinking accompanied with meals is allowed.”

In comparison, an “entertainment bar” is “business of cooking and selling mainly alcoholic beverages, where workers engaged in entertainment may be employed or entertainment facilities may be established, and customers may sing or dance.” There are suspicions that the club was registered as a general restaurant in order to pay lower taxes.

Earlier this week, SBS’s “8 O’Clock News” reported on the suspicions of illegal business practices carried out at Monkey Museum and included chatroom messages that showed Seungri was aware that the club’s registration was illegal but said they could bribe the police if there was a crackdown. The police are carrying out an investigation to determine if there is evidence that connections to high-rank police officers allowed the club to bypass a major crackdown.

KBS reports that during questioning, Seungri stated that he was aware beforehand that registering the club as a “general restaurant” when it opened could become a legal issue.

It has been reported that Seungri stated that when they were opening the club, they followed the example of other surrounding clubs that had registered as other types of businesses such as a “general restaurant” or “photography studio.” After this was discovered in a crackdown, it was corrected.

The police say it appears that Seungri and Yoo In Suk conducted irregular business practices, such as installing a separate stage in Monkey Museum and making it so that people could dance.

After reports from surrounding businesses around the time when the club opened in 2016, Seoul Gangnam Police Station booked the person in charge of business at Monkey Museum on charges of violation of the Food Sanitation Act. The club also had to pay a fine of 40 million won (approximately $35,420) for business violations.

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Seungri has been called for his fourth round of questioning by the police.

On March 21, news outlet Chosun Ilbo reported that the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Provincial Special Detective Divison booked Seungri for charges of violating the Food Sanitation Act and that he was privately summoned for questioning.

Seungri is being questioned for engaging in illegal operations of Monkey Museum, which was a club he established in 2016 in partnership with the former Yuri Holdings CEO Yoo In Suk. When the club first opened, it was registered as a general restaurant instead of an entertainment bar.

According to Article 21 in the Enforcement Decree of Food Sanitation Law, a general restaurant business is described as a “business of cooking and selling food, where drinking accompanied with meals is allowed.” The document also describes an entertainment bar as a “business of cooking and selling mainly alcoholic beverages, where workers engaged in entertainment may be employed or entertainment facilities may be established, and customers may sing or dance.” It is suspected that the club was registered as a general restaurant instead of an entertainment bar in order for the business to have a lower tax rate.

On March 19, SBS’s “8 O’Clock News” shed light on suspicions about illegal business practices of Monkey Museum, and the outlet argued that despite the illegal operations, the club still managed to bypass the crackdown of the district office. The police are now investigating whether there is evidence of connections to high-rank police officers being used to cover up the criminal activities.

This is the fourth time Seungri has attended a police station for questioning. The first round of questioning took place on February 27 for allegations of providing prostitute services for foreign investors, and the second round took place on March 14 in relation to the same allegations. The singer was also privately summoned for a third round of questioning following reports of the police receiving a testimony from a source at the club Burning Sun that stated that Seungri took drugs.

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Top Photo Credit: Xportsnews

With Seungri currently under police investigation on charges involving the mediation of prostitution services, new allegations continue to emerge. His lawyer has stepped forward to deny the claims of Seungri being involved in prostitution services and of using drugs.

On March 20, MBN’s “News 8” reported that police had secured testimony that there were escort services or prostitution mediation at Seungri’s 2017 birthday party, which took place in the Philippines, and they had also secured testimony that Seungri had used cocaine overseas.

Lawyer Son Byung Ho, Seungri’s legal representative, spoke with News1 for an exclusive interview on March 21 and stated, “Those reports are untrue and we will take all necessary measures, whether it involves a cross-examination with the informant or the use of a lie detector.” He added, “We feel the reports around the prostitution and drug use reports only center around claims made by malicious informants. We feel frustrated and that this is unfair. The text messages being reported on have portions that have been omitted, causing misunderstandings that are different from the truth.” He had previously denied the allegations that Seungri had used cocaine.

The lawyer also spoke on the allegations that Seungri had mediated prostitution that were reported on in February. He said, “The reports say Seungri spoke to Mr. Kim to prepare a place at Club Arena and invite women for ‘A,’ who is from Taiwan, and her party,” and “The ‘A’ here is a long-time (female) friend of Seungri and is Singaporean. She has no connection to Seungri’s businesses whatsoever, and her occupation has nothing to do with investments either. There were misunderstandings that ‘A’ was an investor in Burning Sun, but that is not true.”

He continued, “‘A’ was in Korea on holiday but as Seungri was in Nagoya for a concert, he was unable to look after her. So through Mr. Kim, he wanted to introduce her to a female travel companion to shop with her while she was in Seoul.” The police has also conducted an investigation into the acquaintances of Mr. Kim who were introduced to “A” through Mr. Kim. When asked about the text messages stating that men were sent to the hotel room, the lawyer replied, “They were friends ‘A’ brought with her, and it can be assumed that the text messages were referring to sending them to the hotel they’d be staying at.”

The lawyer stated, “The text messages that were reported didn’t include the initial conversation [of finding travel companions] for A. This part was omitted and only the parts that would catch people’s attention were released.”

He also commented on the use of the phrase, “Ones that give it well.” The lawyer stated, “Seungri does not remember this part. They’re messages from three years ago,” and “Seungri does not use language like that. It’s a vulgar expression, isn’t it? We believe he didn’t properly express himself as he was having a celebratory dinner after the concert in Nagoya,” and “Even if the conversation is seen as referring to sexual intercourse, Mr. Kim said ‘I’m calling them but I don’t know if they’ll give it well’ and as the women who were called were acquaintances of Mr. Kim, it can be concluded that the conversation was not about prostitution.”

When asked why they were only now speaking about the contents of the text messages, the lawyer stated, “If Seungri still had the messages from back then, we would have known the facts and spoken clearly from the start. But these were from three years ago and he has no memory of them, and there was no prostitution that took place, so that is why we stated the allegations were untrue,” and “It was only when Seungri was being questioned by the police that he saw the text messages, and it was only after seeing the real names of ‘A’ and the acquaintances Mr. Kim called that Seungri remembered.”

Finally, the lawyer spoke of the text messages exchanged between Seungri and a business partner where they introduced women and mentioned prices. He had spoken about this issue with Sisa Journal earlier but expanded on his answer. He said, “We have the text messages from then. The women Seungri was recommending were not for sexual escort services. The business partner said, ‘I’m meeting the king of Indonesia. Please recommend women who could go with me like they are my wife or girlfriend,’ asking for a woman who could attend various events with him.”

The lawyer added, “It was not for sexual escort services, more like a part-time job of attending a wedding or other events. In the end, Seungri and his business partner went to Indonesia, just the two of them. Seungri had invested 2 billion won (approximately $17,800) through him and was just trying to treat him well to maintain their business relationship and get his investment back.”

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Sometimes, it’s easy to think that everything about K-pop seems perfect. Most people know that the idol industry is very carefully planned and constructed, but little (or big) mistakes can occur nonetheless. Life is unpredictable enough already, so imagine what could happen when you throw a bunch of hyperactive teens and 20-somethings into one room and tell them to entertain. Sounds like pure chaos, right? But, it’s chaotic in the best kind of way!

Here are some of the best happy accidents that K-pop has to offer. Hopefully, this article will serve as a reminder that idols are clumsy and human, just like all of us.

1. I GOT7 problems but ripped pants ain’t one

Many fans are aware of how…unpredictable the GOT7 members can be, but this incident takes it to a whole new level. In the clip below, Jackson and Mark wrestled each other as part of a “Weekly Idol” segment, and the match seemed neck-and-neck at first. But things took a turn when Jackson got a bit more intense, ripping poor Mark’s pants in the process!

2. The sound of hitting your head causes a BIGBANG

During one of BIGBANG’s appearances on Japanese TV, G-Dragon had a bit of an unfortunate mishap. Just after being introduced as the group’s leader, GD oh-so gracefully hit himself on the head with a metal pan! Though he was obviously in some pain, you can’t deny that the whole situation is pretty funny.

3. Rookie, rookie. Seulgi’s a (baseball) rookie

As much as we all love Red Velvet, their sports-related skills are a bit lacking, at least compared with their incredible charisma on stage. When it comes to baseball, Seulgi’s inexperience at throwing a pitch was made obvious when she missed home plate by a mile. You can’t help but laugh at her aim, but at least she tried her best! Just don’t quit your day job, girl.

4. Clumsiness is in Jimin’s DNA

From time to time, idols slip on stage; it can happen to anybody, quite frankly. However, BTS’s Jimin has built up quite the track record of stage slips, having come close to falling a concerning number of times! As long as nobody gets hurt, I think it’s safe to say that we can all find humor in these types of situations.

5. A question that was meant (B)TOB

In this clip, I wouldn’t say anybody messed up, per se. Rather, the question Peniel chose simply created a moment that’s too epic to ignore. During a Q&A video with the BTOB members, Peniel, who rocks a shaved head, was asked what shampoo he uses! The members dubbed it the funniest question that day, and rightfully so.

6. The pitch of Hani’s clarinet went up and down

When EXID’s Hani played her clarinet on broadcast, she ran into a couple hiccups along the way. As her members heckled her, Hani attempted to focus on the music, but a screech of the clarinet jumped out against her will. Though she tried to redeem herself, the music just wasn’t on her side that day!

7. Kang Daniel’s drone + Lee Yi Kyung = a laughing Mark Lee

On an episode of the variety show “It’s Dangerous Beyond the Blankets,” a mere remote-controlled drone caused major trouble for the cast. After Kang Daniel and Lee Yi Kyung continued to fail at steering the drone, it got caught by a ceiling fan! Yi Kyung tried his best to save the drone, and his efforts were made even funnier by hearing NCT member Mark’s laughter in the background.

8. Gee, that’s a nice wig you’ve got, YoonA

YoonA of Girls’ Generation became quite the hot topic when fans discovered this clip of her obviously fake bangs. Back in the day, YoonA was joking with Taeyeon as they appeared on a radio show. YoonA threw her head back in laughter, only to have her bangs thrown back, as well! Check out the clip below to see her reflect on her dark past.

9. This video is for everyone SEVENTEEN and older

During a live stream with SEVENTEEN, Vernon and Joshua were innocently reading some English fan comments aloud, until tragedy struck. Because Vernon started to read a comment that said “Mingyu makes my ovaries explode,” Joshua nearly burst a blood vessel. Luckily, Joshua stopped Vernon from reading the comment in its entirety, though we all know what it said, anyway.

10. Soccer can cause an INFINITE amount of pain

While on an episode of “Ask Us Anything,” INFINITE’s Sungjong caused quite the incident when he proved how hopeless he was at trapping a soccer ball. Whenever the ball came flying at him, Sungjong struggled to control it, getting hit on the head, face, and his, uh, family jewels. At least his pain became our entertainment!

11. GFRIEND has more coordination in their fingertip than I have in my whole body

Despite the fact that GFRIEND looks cool and composed on stage, they seem to be a rather accident-prone group. At both the 1:33 and 4:04 timestamps of the video below, you can members struggle through various rollerskating fails, in addition to other hilarious antics. Without a doubt, GFRIEND is much funnier than they appear to be!

12. Samuel isn’t sweet 16 anymore, but he coughs like an old man

In yet another clip where we derive joy from another person’s misery, Samuel endured a vicious coughing fit while cooking some ramen. Maybe he was suffering from a ramen seasoning-related allergic reaction, or perhaps his young lungs just aren’t what they used to be. Regardless, you’ll find yourself laughing along with the production staff as you watch this video!

Do you have a favorite K-pop accident or fail moment? If so, tell us about it in the comments!

jadicus35 is a ordinary college student by day, and a not-so-closet fangirl by night. She spends most of her time on Tumblr when she’s not (but really should be) studying and/or pretending to be a functional human being.