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Seungri postpones military draft amid Burning Sun probe
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Seungri (C), a member of the K-pop boy group BIGBANG, speaks to the media as he arrives for questioning over criminal allegations at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul on March 14, 2019. (AFP/Jung Yeon-Je)
T
he enlistment of K-pop star Seungri has been delayed amid the investigation into the Burning Sun scandal, the Military Manpower Administration announced Wednesday.
Seungri filed an application Monday to delay his enlistment, requesting that it be postponed while the case is under investigation.
The MMA said his original enlistment date of March 25 has been delayed for three months, with the possibility of an additional extension.
On Tuesday, drug use was added to the still-growing list of allegations against the 29-year-old singer, which notably includes procuring prostitutes and illegal gambling.
According to local broadcaster TV Chosun, investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency privately summoned Seungri for questioning Monday after a nightclub staff member testified that the singer had used illegal drugs.
The probe, however, reportedly is in trouble, as the exact time and place of the supposed drug use has not been revealed. Seungri has firmly denied any drug use, the report said.
The singer voluntarily cooperated with the investigation, appearing before police and submitting samples Feb. 27, and a drug test produced negative results. However, with the new testimony, police have resumed the drug use investigation.
Read also: Arrest warrant sought for Jung Joon-young
Meanwhile, a Chinese national known as Anna who worked at the Burning Sun club tested positive for multiple drugs, local media outlets reported Tuesday.
Anna reportedly worked as a promoter for the club and was tasked with taking care of VIP customers from China. She is now under police probe on allegations of selling drugs to clubgoers.
According to Seoul police on Tuesday, Anna’s hair and urine samples tested positive for party drugs ketamine and ecstasy.
After more than six hours of questioning, Anna reportedly admitted to using drugs but denied selling them, claiming she had received them from Chinese customers.
Police said they are searching for the identities of Chinese customers and investigating whether the club’s employees knew about drug use at the club.
The Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday night dismissed an arrest warrant request for Burning Club CEO Lee Moon-ho. “It’s difficult to accept the necessity of arresting the suspect at this time” in consideration of many factors, including the process of the investigation, the suspect’s attitude during the probe and his lack of any criminal history, the court said.
While Lee has denied using drugs and said he did not know that drugs were traded at his club, he tested positive in a drug test, although police did not specify the drug or drugs.
Police said they would make another request for an arrest warrant after investigating further, as they found that Lee had paid a former police officer to cover up the fact that Burning Sun let minors enter the club illegally.
This article appeared on The Korea Herald newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
