Kpop infamous Seungri involved in the Burning Sun night club crimes has left prison20230212
The crimes were first revealed in January 2019 and confirmed what many people already thought about the Kpop scene, especially the one concentrated in the Seoul clubbing districts of Hongdae, Itaewon and Gangnam. Seungri (클럽 버닝썬) was the most visible person involved in the crimes and one of only few punished because there were enough evidences in his mobile phone noticed by a repair technician who gave them to the investigators. He was released from the prison on 9th February 2023 after serving 1 year and 6 months sentence. But rumours say, that the most prominent figures remained unpunished and nothing has really changed in the shady business behind the lavish Kpop lifestyle.
The initial crime that uncovered the whole scale of the problem happened in November 2018, when a male clubgoer was assaulted by a staff member in the prominent nightclub Burning Sun located in the Le Méridien Hotel within the posh Seoul district Gangnam.
This clubgoer tried to defend a girl who was dragged by a staff member and looked to be under influence of drugs. But the reaction of the police was very cold and in fact accused this clubgoer of defamation and obstructing business.
But the evidences found in the mobile phone of Seungri confirmed that he and other people responsible for running the club were involved in large scale use of illegal drugs, which were also used to incapacitate women in the club. These drugged women were then abused, raped and filmed with spy cams in the VIP zones of the club.
The real nature of the club was known even to high ranking police officeres, but it is rumoured that they accepted bribes to cover the happenings there and thus the police did nothing. The club was popular among many well known Kpop related persons, DJs and even politicians, and the rumours say that they all took advantage of the toxic club environment that mistreated women. The women were even offered as a bonus to sweeten the deals with potential club investors and their unconsented videos also circulated on the internet.
But there were not enough evidences to convict the high ranking persons. Most victims were also afraid to talk about their mistreatment in the club because it could ruin their further career as the Korean society is very rigid and victimization and misuse is part of the culture how the high ranking persons deal with the lower ranking ones and thus complaining about these practices in fact often turns against the victims and stops their career rise.
The public says that even the sentence given to Seungri is very lenient and nothing will really change the way how these clubs and the whole Kpop industry works. The misuse of women is deeply rooted in many Asian societies and those speaking against it are often singled out and shamed.
Many even Asian candidates for the pop industry now like to be represented by western agencies, which grant high standards in dignity and handling according to human rights included in the western law systems.