Police summon K-pop star Seungri over gambling charges

Seungri, a former member of the K-pop boy band BIGBANG, appeared Wednesday for a police probe over illegal overseas gambling allegations.

Dressed in formal attire, the disgraced K-pop star said he will sincerely take part in the probe and apologized for “causing deep worries”. He did not reply to journalists’ questions about gambling charges.

Seungri, a former member of boy band BIGBANG, speaks to reporters after arriving at a unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul’s Jungnang Ward on Aug. 28, 2019, to be questioned over allegations of gambling in a hotel casino in Las Vegas and securing gambling money in violation of the country’s foreign currency transaction laws. (Yonhap)

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Earlier this month, police booked Seungri and Yang Hyun-suk, the former CEO of BIGBANG’s management agency, YG Entertainment, over the allegations.

The two are charged with habitually gambling in foreign countries and illegally securing funds for gambling in violation of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act.

Cable network JTBC reported that Seungri and Yang were regular guests at Las Vegas hotel casinos where they gambled millions of dollars.

Prior to the overseas gambling allegations, Seungri was referred to the prosecution in June on embezzlement and pimping charges.

Seungri, whose legal name is Lee Seung-hyun, ceased all entertainment activities in March after a nightclub he was associated with came under probe over drug use and sexual abuse.