|
The decision came a day after he was charged
with providing prostitutes to foreign investors in his private
club, media said, driving down shares of his agency as much as
16 percent.
"I think it is about the right time to retire from show
business," the 28-year-old singer said on his Instagram account,
adding that he would cooperate with the police investigation
into the accusation.
Police were not immediately available for comment.
The K-pop star, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, apologized to
his fans and said he had been branded a "traitor to the nation".
His agency, YG Entertainment Inc, told Reuters it did not have
any fresh comment on his position.
Shares of YG Entertainment fell as much as 15.6 percent on
Monday to their lowest since November 2018.
Lee denied procuring prostitutes last month when media said he
had been involved in "sex bribery".
In a statement after the February media report, YG Entertainment
said it was false.
Seungri made his official debut in August 2006 along with the
group's other four members: G-Dragon, T.O.P, Taeyang and Daesung.
It has drawn many fans across Asia in places such as Hong Kong,
Macau, Singapore and Taiwan.
The scandal comes ahead of the singer's mandatory military
service, which all able-bodied South Korean men are required to
complete.
All the other four group members are now serving in the
military. On Friday, the agency said the singer would join the
army this month to fulfill his military duties.
(Reporting by Joori Roh; Editing by Robert Birsel, Ju-min Park)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
