K-pop star sentenced to 3 years in prostitution case

A South Korean military court has sentenced disgraced K-pop star Seungri to three years in prison for crimes including providing prostitutes to foreign businessmen

SEOUL, South Korea -- A South Korean military court sentenced disgraced K-pop star Seungri to three years in prison on Thursday for crimes including providing prostitutes to foreign businessmen. The Defense Ministry said the former member of the boy band Big Bang was also fined 1.15 billion won ($989,000). He was taken into custody after the ruling by an army court in Yongin, near Seoul. Seungri, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, was indicted in January 2020 on multiple charges, including arranging illegal sexual services for business investors from Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong from 2015 to 2016. He was also convicted of embezzling funds from a Seoul nightclub he ran and violating laws prohibiting overseas gambling by betting heavily at foreign casinos from 2013 to 2017. He denied most of the charges. His case was transferred to a military court after he enlisted in the army in March last year for 21 months of military service, a requirement for most able-bodied men in South Korea because of the threat from rival North Korea.