The former BIGBANG member was also fined 1.15 billion won ($989,000) was found guilty on nine counts of arranging sex services for potential investors in his business, as well as overseas gambling at luxurious casinos in Las Vegas involving illicit foreign exchange transactions.
On August 18, Star Today News reported that Seungri’s legal representative have expressed the singer’s plan to appeal the sentence.
According to reports, the K-Pop star was expected to appeal the sentence as he had denied the charges during his 10-month-long trial. However, according to reports, he has not yet submitted his appeal.
Under the current military law, the defendant can appeal within seven days from the date of receipt of the judgment.
Reports state that Seungri will be transferred from active military duty to wartime labour. However, if he submits his appeal, it is highly likely that he will serve his full mandatory military service rather than be discharged from his duty.
Seungri left the group in 2019 after the media reported the prostitution accusations. His case is one of several scandals that have roiled South Korea’s entertainment industry in recent years.
In 2019, singer Jung Joon-young received a six-year prison term and former boy band member Choi Jong-hoon a five-year term after they were found guilty of illicit sexual relations with a woman who was unable to resist.
