Convicted idol Seungri, former member of K-pop boy band Big Bang, was to be transferred to a civilian prison on June 9 along with his discharge from the military.
Last May 26, South Korea’s Supreme Court upheld his prison sentence of one year and six months.
On Aug. 12 last year, the General Military Court found Seungri guilty and sentenced him to three years in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of 1.15 billion won (about $950,000). He was immediately taken into custody.
He was found guilty by the military court on the following charges: prostitution brokerage 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.
Seungri and the prosecution filed their respective appeals. Last Jan. 27, the High Military Court of the Ministry of National Defense held a hearing.
During the hearing, Seungri admitted all the charges and expressed his intention to reflect. The High Military Court appeared to have taken this into account and reduced his sentence to one year and six months.
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the High Military Court.
Seungri enlisted in the military in March 2020 and he was supposed to be discharged from the military in September 2021. However, he was convicted in August 2021 and was taken into custody. His discharge was put on hold until the final decision was made in his case.
Since August, Seungri had been serving his sentence at the Military Correctional Institution until the Supreme Court issued the final ruling in his case.
Korean media reported that the personnel command of the Army Headquarters discharged Seungri on June 9 and he would be immediately transferred to nearby Yeoju Prison, a civilian prison located in Gyeonggi Province in South Korea.
Yeoju Prison
Seungri will serve the remaining nine months of his sentence at Yeoju Prison. He will be released from prison in February next year.
According to the Yeoju government website, Yeoju Prison can accommodate 1,950 in 630 high-tech living rooms. Of the 630, 284 are single-living rooms and 364 can accommodate many prisoners.
Yeoju has state-of-the-art facilities and provides correctional and reformation programs focusing on education and vocational training.
