K-pop scandal: ex-Big Bang member Seungri questioned over Las Vegas gambling

Seungri, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, has also been accused of arranging sex services for potential investors in his business

K-pop scandals

Agence France-Presse

Published: 10:59am, 28 Aug 2019

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Disgraced K-pop star Seungri was questioned by police on Wednesday for illicit overseas gambling, the latest step in a snowballing sex and drugs scandal that saw him retire in March.

The 28-year-old singer from popular boy band Big Bang is accused of habitual overseas gambling at luxurious casinos in Las Vegas involving illicit foreign exchange transactions.

Dressed in a sharp dark suit, Seungri stepped out from a black sedan to a mob of reporters waiting for him at a police building in Seoul.

South Korean superstar Seungri, who is a former member of group Big Bang. Photo: EPA

“I apologise again for causing concern,” he said. “I will attend the police questioning in a sincere manner.”

Seungri, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, has also been accused of arranging sex services for potential investors in his business.

The investigation into the scandal surrounding him uncovered a spate of allegations against other musicians and personnel at YG Entertainment – Seungri’s former agency and one of the biggest K-pop management firms.

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YG Entertainment was behind Psy’s 2012 mega-hit Gangnam Style that helped raise K-pop’s global profile and has popular idol groups such as Big Bang and Blackpink under its roof.

Yang Hyun-suk, the firm’s founder and former chief producer, will be questioned by police on Thursday over similar illicit gambling and cash transfer allegations as Seungri.

Yang was also separately placed under investigation by police last month for allegedly arranging sex services for foreign investors in 2014.

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