The former Big Bang singer was also hit with habitual gambling charges.
Former Big Bang singer Seungri, 29, has been indicted on charges including organizing prostitutes, habitual gambling and illegal foreign currency trade, according to a CNN report.
A spokesperson for the Seoul Central Prosecutors' office confirmed the news on Thursday (Jan. 30) about the indictment of the singer (born Lee Seung-hyun), who was indicted without detention.
Seungri was one of the biggest stars in the K-pop universe before he shocked fans last March by quitting the industry after the news broke that officials were investigating him as part of a larger, still-spreading sexual abuse scandal referred to as "Burning Sun." The name is dervied from a nightclub in Seoul's popular Gangnam neighborhood and Seungri was on the board of the club, which the Seoul Metropolitan Police say was a hub of bribery, violence against customers, rape, drug trafficking and drug use and the securing of prostitues for VIPs.
The investigation lead to the discovery of an oline group chat that shared sexually explicit videos of women filmed without their consent, with a number of prominent K-pop stars implicated last March. In November, two of the members of that group, the Seoul Central District Court convicted singer Jung Joon-young and musician Choi Jong-hoon of conspiring in the sexual assault of a woman who was incapable of reisisting.
“At this point, I think it would be best if I retire from the entertainment industry,” Seungri wrote at the time of his retirement. “I decided on retiring from the entertainment industry as the issues that I caused a societal disturbance with are too major. Regarding the issues that are being investigated, I will be investigated diligently and reveal all the suspicions.”
Billboard has reached out for additional comment.
