A member of South Korean K-Pop band Big Bang, who goes by the stage name Seungri, has decided to quit showbiz after being charged with providing prostitutes to foreign investors in his private club, media reported on Sunday, sending shares of his agency as much as 14 per cent lower.
His agency, YG Entertainment Inc, one of South Korea’s three major K-Pop talent agencies, said on Monday that it was aware the singer had been charged, however, it did not have any new comment.
Shares of YG Entertainment fell as much as 14.2 per cent to their lowest since November 2018.
Police were not immediately available for comment.
The 28-year-old singer, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, announced his decision to quit on Instagram.
“I think it is right for me to retire from this industry. I will cooperate [with] ongoing investigation and clarify every suspicion,” he posted in Korean, according to straitstimes.com. “For the past one and a half months, I’ve been denounced by the public, every investigation agency is probing me and I’ve been accused as a traitor. And I can’t let this cause further damage to others... I think I’m done here for the sake of YG and #BigBang.”
Seungri denied procuring prostitutes last month when a media outlet reported he had been involved in “sex bribery”.
Shares of YG Entertainment plunged 21.9 per cent after that report.
Following the February media report YG Entertainment said in a statement the report was false.
The scandal comes ahead of the singer’s mandatory military services, which all able-bodied men in South Korea must complete.
The agency said that the singer would join the army later this month to fulfil his military duties.
