"The Burning Sun" scandal, also known as Burning Sun gate, is one of South Korea's most significant and controversial events.
It gets its name from the "Burning Sun," the luxurious nightclub located in Seoul’s upscale Gangnam district, at the Le Méridien Seoul hotel in Yeoksam-dong, the place where the scandal happened.
At the time, a man named Kim Sang-kyo, a customer at the nightclub, claimed that he was assaulted by the club’s staff after trying to help a woman who was being harassed. Kim alleged that after the assault, he was also beaten by the police when he reported the incident.
This particular incident, became the catalyst for a series of investigations.
It was then revealed that behind the nightclub's closed doors, things were more than what meets the eyes.
In what involved celebrity figures, including Korean idols of popular K-pop groups, and police officials, the scandal centered around allegations ranging from drug use to sexual assault. It also involved allegations of using spy cameras, which then quickly followed by allegations of prostitution and rape.
The Burning Sun advertised itself as "the most elegant and finest club in South Korea".
It included a basement level for electronic dance music (EDM), a second level for hip hop, VIP admittance, 60 VIP tables near the DJ box and stage, spacious dance floors and accommodation for 1,000 guests.
And Seungri, being a K-pop idol from Big Bang, was one of seven in-house directors, the co-founder of Yuri Holdings, a shareholder of Burning Sun Entertainment that operated the club, which owned as much as 20% of its shares.
He managed to forge and built an empire of businesses, all on his own, thanks to his influence as a celebrity and a superstar.
Along the way, he has become an entrepreneur with businesses in various industries, including food and nightlife, as well as music labels.
And the Burning Sun nightclub, was often called "Seungri's Club", due to its affiliation with Seungri.
Then one day, after Kim being assaulted was shared on the internet, news coverage enticed the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to conduct an investigation.
Following investigation, it was realized that Seungri was involved.
But things went bad to worse for the idol, when chatroom messages surfaces on the internet.
Names in the chat include Seungri, and fellow celebrities Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon.
The leaked KakaoTalk messages from Jung's phone revealed conversations and videos dating from 2015 to 2016. For starters, Jung confessed to secretly filming himself having sexual intercourse with women and sharing the videos, without the women's knowledge or consent.
Investigation based on this revealed gang rape convictions of Jung and other chatroom members, including Choi, a former Burning Sun employee named Kim, a businessman named Kwon, and a former employee of YG Entertainment named Heo.
Jung was then convicted with about dozen charges.
Big Bang singer Seungri was charged for his involvement, due to how the Burning Sun scandal is centered.
Allegations arise that he facilitated prostitution services for VIP clients and investors.
But what Seungri was guilty of, was sharing illegal photos and videos.
Seungri position allowed him to place spy cameras inside of the club, including in the VIP rooms, hotel rooms, toilets and bathrooms.
Videos were then shared among a group chat involving celebrities, including other K-pop stars.
Seungri was charged with sexual bribery.
From evidence gathered by forensic teams, which examined the venue for traces of drugs, bodily fluids, and hidden recording devices, Seungri and others were accused of running a prostitution ring to attract and appease wealthy investors and VIP clients.
Realizing his mistake, Seungri subsequently resigned from the entertainment industry.
Jung also resigned from the entertainment industry, followed by Yong and Choi, who also resigned from their jobs.
Seungri faced multiple charges and was sentenced to three years in prison in August 2021. His sentence was later reduced to 18 months on appeal.
Jung Joon-young received a six-year prison sentence, later reduced to five years on appeal. Choi Jong-hoon was sentenced to five years, later reduced to 2.5 years on appeal.
Several other individuals involved in the scandal, including club executives and staff, faced various charges and were sentenced to prison.
Legal proceedings for criminal investigations generated by the scandal continued into 2021.
It's revealed that the Burning Sun paid a former police officer to cover for an underage clubgoer incident. The club was also linked to a senior police official, who was arrested for allegations of bribery and mediating favors for the Burning Sun club and others.
The police also found that the club had been a place for far too many drug-related transactions and arrests, and that a large percentage of the cases involved ecstasy and gamma-Hydroxybutyric (GHB), a depressant drug.
But in this case, GHB was used as a date rape drug, meant to be ingested by the women, so they became vulnerable.
A former Burning Sun employee said that he saw women unconscious after being given GHB at the club almost every day.
Amid the numerous claims that drugged women have been raped at the Burning Sun nightclub, keywords including "Burning Sun VIP," "Burning Sun Room Bathroom," "Burning Sun Club VIP," and more, could be seen in the list of trending searches at some top adult websites.
People were trying to find watch the videos.
Among the most sought-after videos, is the "Red Bathroom" video, which was located within the club, reportedly decorated with red lighting and a red-themed interior design, creating an eerie and distinctive atmosphere.
In the bathroom, alleged sexual assaults happened to female patrons.
Many of the women were also filmed secretly in compromising situations.
The scandal had a profound impact on South Korea's entertainment industry, prompting a wave of scrutiny and reforms aimed at preventing such incidents in the future.
The public outrage led to widespread protests and calls for stronger protections, forced the South Korean government to implement stricter laws and regulations regarding drug use, sexual crimes, and privacy violations.
The allegations of the sex crimes added to the country's "epidemic" of what is called molka, a Korean word for the online distribution of nonconsensual sex videos taken of women.
The case became a symbol of the depravity and exploitation, highlighting the urgent need for reform and accountability within the nightlife industry and beyond.
The Burning Sun scandal not only highlighted the dark side of the nightlife and entertainment world, but also exposed systemic issues of corruption and abuse of power, leading to significant societal and legal changes in South Korea.
The case resurfaced when the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) released a one-hour documentary, "Burning Sun: Exposing the Secret K-pop Chat Group", revisiting the 2019 sex and drug scandal involving K-pop stars and highlighting the relatively unknown world behind the K-pop industry.
Based on the testimonies of two female journalists in Seoul, the documentary is adds interviews with the victims, as well as revealing previously unseen footage of the perpetrators.
For example, a clip from the documentary shows Seungri grabbing a woman's arm roughly, raising his hand in a threatening manner and shouting at her, seemingly at a party, saying “Shut up! Shut up, follow me!" and bragging about being a member of the famous group Big Bang at a drinking party.
The documentary also revealed that late K-pop singer Goo Ha-ra from the the girl band Kara, played a crucial role in exposing allegations of collusion between police and the entertainment establishment in the Burning Sun scandal.
The documentary was released a few months after Jung was released from prison in March, after serving five years for the gang rape offense.
Goo, who described herself as a victim of "revenge porn," offered to help prove to a senior police official about the case, and helped Choi admit his crime.
Choi was released from prison in November 2021, after serving two and a half years.
The BBC documentary has garnered significant attention, amassing millions of views on YouTube as of Tuesday, just days after its release, reflecting the continued global interest in the implications of the scandal and its impact on the K-pop industry.
