A former K-pop singer Lee Seung-hyun, also known as Seungri, was convicted by a court under charges of acquiring prostitutes for investors at top clubs in Seoul. The 30-year-old has been sentenced to three years in prison with a fine of nearly $1 million. Not only this but Seungri also was indulged in various other scandals that involved bribery.

Seungri was a member of the Big Bang group and had quit the band two years ago before being charged. He was found guilty of a total of nine charges that included misuse of funds from nightclubs, gambling overseas which is banned by South Korean for those who are travelling abroad. The country has also banned prostitution as it is illegal in the country.

Seungri made his debut in August 2006 with Big Bang’s four other members, namely, G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang and Daesung. The band is still one of the most popular, and a reunion was scheduled for last year but was cancelled due to the pandemic.

Apart from Seungri, other Kpop stars like Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon were convicted for gang-raping a woman in 2019 and were sentenced to six and five years in prison. However, the court then reduced their sentence to a lesser term.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 13, 2021 06:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).