Former Big Bang member Seungri, who was supposed to be released from required military duty on September 16 is now being kept at the ROK army's military detention center.
This, after the prosecution's side of the legal case to his 9 criminal charges decided to appeal the court's initial ruling sentencing him to jail. Seungri had already enrolled as an active duty soldier in March 2020. This indicated that Seungri will be released from his military duty on September 16.
Soon after his enlistment, however, the military court initiated the formal trial process for nine criminal accusations against the former singer, including embezzlement, breach of food cleanliness rules, chronic unlawful gambling, illegal monetary transfer, solicitation of illegal prostitution, and so on.
Seungri was found guilty of the bulk of the accusations leveled against him by a military court on August 12, 2021, and was sentenced to three years in jail, a fine of 1.15 billion KRW ($989,000 USD), and the registration of his personal information on the national sexual crime offender list.
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Seungri was placed into custody with the 55th division of the ROK military's police sector shortly after the court judgment. Seungri's legal representation formally appealed the matter a week following his court judgment. The prosecution has also filed an appeal, and the appeal trial will be sent to the military appeal court for consideration. Seungri was transferred from the military police sector to the army's prison center after the appeals, where he is still being detained. Its unclear whether this is good for him or bad.
A decision can be appealed twice in military court before being sent to the Supreme Court of South Korea. Seungri's release from required duty is therefore "delayed" while his case is being reviewed by the military appeal court. So far, it appears that the former singer will be held in custody without being released until his case is entirely resolved. Whether fans, at least those who remained, will be saddened or relieved over the news remains to be seen.
Other singers and staff at YG Entertainment, Seungri's previous agency and one of K-largest pop's management organizations, were named in the inquiry into the controversy surrounding him.
It led Yang Hyun-suk, the agency's top executive, to resign, citing his own investigations into illegal gaming. On Thursday, many users on social media reacted angrily to the judgment, claiming that Seungri's sentence was too short for the crimes committed. While it is great that he is finally being imprisoned, the sentence is far too short, according to a user on Naver, South Korea's largest site. "It should have been 30 years, not three," another remarked.
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