Former K-pop boy band Big Bang member Seungri, 31, filed an appeal with the General Military Court in Korea, which convicted him on nine charges including prostitution mediation.
Last Aug. 12, the General Military Court found Seungri guilty on nine charges and sentenced him to three years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of 1.15 billion won (about $990,233). He was immediately arrested after his conviction.
According to the General Military Court, Seungri filed an appeal on Aug. 19. On the other hand, military prosecutors filed their own appeal last Aug. 25. The prosecution previously sought a sentence of five years against Seungri but the court imposed three years.
After the verdict was announced last Aug. 12, Seungri’s lawyer revealed their intention to file an appeal.
Seungri is currently fulfilling his military service and he is set to be discharged on Sept. 16. Because he filed an appeal before his discharge, the hearing on his appeal will be held at the High Military Court within the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan, Seoul, according to Korean media.
He was convicted by the military court for the following charges: prostitution mediation in violation of Act on the Punishment of Arrangement of Commercial Sex Acts Etc., embezzlement, overseas gambling, procuring prostitution service, violation of Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, violation of Food Sanitation Act, violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning The Punishment, Etc. of Sexual Crimes, violation of an Act on the Aggravated Punishment Etc. of Specific Economic Crimes and mobilizing gang to threaten people.
In addition, the court ordered the registration of Seungri’s personal information because of his sex crime.
Seungri’s conviction stemmed from the Burning Club scandal in early 2019. On March 11, 2019, Seungri announced his retirement from the entertainment industry due to the scandal.
“I have decided to retire from the entertainment industry as the issues that caused social controversy are so great,” he said then.