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 The blame game triggered by accusations against the boyish stars
who epitomize an industry that carried South Korean pop culture
to the global stage is rooted in concerns the business has
neglected morality in its lust for fame and fortune.
Singer Lee Seung-hyun, 28, better known by the stage name
Seungri, is suspected of paying for prostitutes for foreign
businessmen to drum up investment in his business.
He denies any wrongdoing and said he would cooperate with a
police investigation when he arrived at Seoul's Metropolitan
Police Agency.
"I am sorry to the nation and everyone who has been hurt," Lee
told reporters, but did not elaborate.
Police have said Lee, a member of the group BIGBANG who is
nicknamed South Korea's "Great Gatsby" for his lavish lifestyle,
is suspected of what is known as "sexual bribery".
On Monday, Lee said he was leaving the entertainment industry to
fight the accusations.
Also in trouble is singer and television celebrity Jung Joon-young.
On Wednesday, Jung admitted to having shared videos he took
secretly while having sex with women. He appeared at the same
police station earlier on Thursday to help police with an
investigation into suspicions that he distributed the videos.
Jung's agency, MAKEUS Entertainment, has terminated his contract
and he has been barred from leaving the country while police
question him.
Lawyers for Jung could not be reached for comment.
Lee and Jung were both members of online chat groups where
secret sex tapes were shared, and men joked about drugging and
raping women, the broadcaster SBS said.
A third performer, Yong Jun-hyung, expressed remorse in a post
on Instagram about watching a sex video shared by Jung, and
making inappropriate comments on it.
"I was stupid," he said, while denying he made or shared any
illegal recordings.
Yong's agency, Around US Entertainment, said he would quit the
boyband Highlight "to prevent the group's reputation from being
damaged".
In a statement late on Thursday, FNC Entertainment said singer
Choi Jong-hoon would leave the band FT Island after chat
messages suggested a police official helped hide the fact that
Choi had been caught drunk driving, Yonhap news agency said.
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In a message posted on Instagram, Choi apologized, expressed
embarrassment and regret, and said he would be ending his
entertainment career, but did not address specific accusations.
'WALKING TIME BOMB'
Industry commentators have taken aim at the business managers,
notorious for demanding the toughest training regimes and
controlling every aspect of young stars' lives.
The focus on finding the winning song and dance formula came at the
cost of the performers' "moral education", said entertainment
commentator Ha Jae-keun, adding that many companies covered up
problems until it was too late.
"If the agencies do not give sufficient care to their stars,
including education and stress management, they will end up raising
walking time bombs," said another industry commentator, Kim
Sung-soo.
The South Korean public is demanding action and selling shares in
the industry.
A petition for the president to crack down on predatory and corrupt
practices exposed by the scandals has drawn more than 200,000
signatures.
Shares of Lee's agency, YG Entertainment, fell more than 20 percent
after his sex bribery scandal was first reported on Feb. 26, while
shares of other top music companies have been hit.
YG said on Wednesday it would terminate Lee's contract at his
request. A company source told Reuters the future of BIGBANG as a
group had not been decided.
But some fans are already walking away.
"What a scumbag. I am ashamed to say I used to be a BIGBANG fan,"
said Jenny Eusden, an English teacher in South Korea.
"I just want people to know this is not OK."
YG Entertainment should explain, said Kaori Kuwabara, a 52-year-old
Japanese fan of BIGBANG.
"My friends told me that I should stop being a fan of K-pop," she
said while waiting outside the company's office in Seoul, hoping to
demand answers from its officials.
(Reporting by Joori Roh and Josh Smith; Additional reporting by Ju-min
Park; Editing by Robert Birsel and Clarence Fernandez)
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