Burning Sun: Exposing the Secret K-pop Chat Groups

The Burning Sun scandal, also known as Burning Sun gate, was a 2019 entertainment and sex scandal in Seoul, South Korea, which involved several celebrities, including Korean idols of popular K-pop groups, and police officials. It began on January 27, 2019, when MBC Newsdesk reported a November 2018 alleged assault of a male clubgoer at the Burning Sun, a prominent nightclub in Gangnam, by a staff member. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency investigation soon turned to one concerning the club's alleged involvement in sexual assault or date rape, prostitution, drug trafficking and police corruption. The chatroom exposé immediately affected multiple celebrities, leading to their criminal prosecution and resignation from the entertainment industry. One of the club's directors was Seungri from the boy band BigBang, and after being charged with sexual bribery, he announced his retirement from the industry on March 11, 2019. Allegations of rape and spy cams quickly followed when singer and entertainer Jung Joon-young confessed to secretly filming himself having sex with women and sharing the videos, without their knowledge or consent, in the Jung Joon-young KakaoTalk chatrooms. This resulted in his resignation from the entertainment industry on March 12, 2019. Subsequently, SBS funE reported the discovery of illicit videos dating from 2015 to 2016, as well as conversations Jung shared in chat groups on the social media app KakaoTalk with Seungri and other acquaintances. On March 14, Yong Jun-hyung of Highlight and Choi Jong-hoon of F.T. Island resigned from their positions, after allegations they were participants in the chatrooms. The agency for Lee Jong-hyun of CNBLUE admitted his involvement on March 15. Legal proceedings for criminal investigations generated by the scandal continued into 2021. Although several police officers were disciplined for their actions involving the Burning Sun club, the two highest-profile cases resulted in trial acquittals. Burning Sun's co-CEO, Lee Sung-hyun, testified that he had paid a former police officer named Kang to cover for an underage clubgoer incident. However, Kang's one-year prison sentence was overturned for lack of evidence. A senior police official, Yoon Gyu-geun, was arrested for allegations of bribery and mediating favors for the Burning Sun club and others. His first trial was well-publicized and ended with an innocent verdict. Among other verdicts, the club's co-CEO, Lee Moon-ho, was sentenced to a year in prison for habitual drug use, including ecstasy and ketamine in Gangnam clubs. One of the club's promoters, MD Cho, was sentenced to four years and six months for drug use and smuggling. Police conducted drug sweeps at entertainment venues that yielded hundreds of drug-related arrests, a large percentage involving ecstasy and GHB, a common date rape drug; along with cases of sexual assault and rape, and the filming of illegal videos during drug use. Seungri's business associate, Yoo In-seok, admitte