Ex-Big Bang’s Seungri sentenced to 3 years in prison; now detained
The personal information of Seungri (real name Lee Seung-hyun), 30, former member of K-pop boy band Big Bang, will be registered with the government for his sex crime after he was convicted by a military court on Aug. 12 on nine charges.
A general military court sentenced Seungri to three years in prison and imposed a fine of 1.15 billion won (about $990,233). He was immediately detained after his conviction.
Seungri, who enlisted in the military in March last year, was convicted for the following crimes: prostitution mediation in violation of Act on the Punishment of Arrangement of Commercial Sex Acts Etc., embezzlement, overseas gambling, procuring prostitution service, violation of Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, violation of Food Sanitation Act, violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning The Punishment, Etc. of Sexual Crimes, violation of an Act on the Aggravated Punishment Etc. of Specific Economic Crimes and mobilizing gang to threaten people. He denied the charges.
The court ordered the registration of Seungri’s personal information for sex crime.
On taking photos of women using camera, the military court said Seungri claimed he did not take the photos himself and that he did not go against the victims’ will but it said the act of distributing photos through the Internet etc. will be treated and punished in the same way as illegal filming.
It said Seungri distributed photos of three women lying naked with their faces covered.
Under Article 14 of Korea’s Act on Special Cases Concerning The Punishment, Etc. of Sexual Crimes, “A person who takes photos of another person’s body, which may cause any sexual stimulus or shame against the latter’s will, by using a camera or similar mechanism, or who distributes, sells, leases, provides, or openly exhibits or screens the photos so taken, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than five years or by a fine not exceeding ten million won.”
The law added, “Even though taking photos under paragraph (1) was not against the will of the person photographed at the time of taking such photos, a person who distributes, sells, leases, provides, or openly exhibits or screens any photos of the former’s body so taken, against the former’s will, thereafter, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than three years or by a fine not exceeding five million won.”
According to Korea’s Ministry of Justice website, the Personal Information Registration System is “a system to register and manage personal information of a person who has been convicted of a sexual offense subject to registration, and use the information for prevention and investigation of sexual offense and also partially disclose the information to the public or local residents.”
The purpose of the system as far as the public is concerned is “general crime prevention effect to arouse public attention that personal information of sex offender will be registered in government institution’s database for 10-30 years.”
Among the personal information that will be in the database are name, address and actual residence, contact information (telephone number, e-mail address), license number of personal vehicle, information on sex offense on record, Resident Registration Number, body measurements (height, weight), occupation and work address, photo (head shot, full-length shot) and record of previous convictions due to sexual offense.
The periods of personal registration information are as follows: Monetary penalty – 10 years, prison labor of no more than three years — 15 years, prison labor of no more than 10 years — 20 years, and prison labor exceeding 10 years – 30 years.