Inside the dark world of K-pop: From gang-rape and sex club scandals to rampant drug abuse, leaked sex tapes and tragic suicides
The K-pop world has become accustomed to both scandal and tragedy over the years, with some of its biggest stars exposed as criminals, singers suffering from vile abuse and others falling victim to the pressures of the famously toxic industry.
The latest fiasco this week has seen Taeil, a major star from boy group NCT, dropped by his label after it emerged that he was being investigated over an unspecified sex offence.
It is by no means the first time K-pop has been rocked by allegations of this kind, with the most notorious case in its history seeing three singers jailed for sexual crimes.
The so-called Burning Sun scandal was exposed in 2019, with boyband members Seungri, Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon all found to be members of a disturbing group chat which shared explicit videos of women without their consent.
The men are among a host of stars who have been disgraced, with others facing charges for rape, blackmail, drug abuse and drink driving, with many believing they would be protected by their fame.
The latest fiasco this week has seen Taeil, a major star from boy group NCT, dropped by his label after it emerged that he was being investigated over an unspecified sex offence
Taeil (second from right) is pictured with fellow members of NCT 127 in 2019
Meanwhile, scores of young popstars have suffered with poor mental health, often as a result of brutal training regimes, strict diets, iron-clad contracts, trolling and being victims of fellow, often powerful celebrities.
In an industry that prides itself on its star’s clean cut and ‘perfect’ images, the emergence of a much more sinister reality has been laid bare over recent years, as MailOnline reveals here.
K-pop criminals and what they’ve been charged with
Jung Joon-young – Rape and filming without consent
Jung’s phone was key to the Burning Sun investigation being exposed as it was his phone messages being leaked
In 2019, the leak of texts from K-pop star Jung Joon-young’s phone triggered one of the biggest scandals in K-pop history.
It became known as The Burning Sun case because allegations from the chatrooms were coming out at the same time that a popular club of the same name was being exposed as a cesspit of disturbing practices.
Jung’s phone was key to the Burning Sun investigation being exposed as it was his phone messages that were leaked.
In 2016, reports emerged that his girlfriend accused him of secretly filming her while they were having sex.
Shockingly, his media savvy management team handled the press and the star was even sympathised by many adoring fans in spite of the allegation.
At the time, Jung handed his phone to a private forensics company instead of the police.
Jung’s phone was key to the Burning Sun investigation being exposed as it was his phone messages being leaked
But an anonymous whistleblower went on to leak a copy of his phone data, which eventually exposed the group chat messages.
It resulted in him being sentenced to six years in prison for raping a woman and distributing a video showing the act.
According to Korea JoongAng Daily, Jung’s sentence was reduced to five years in 2020. He was released from prison in March of this year.
Seungri – Sexual bribery and financial crimes
Seungri got a three year sentence in 2021, but it was reduced to one and a half years. He was released from prison in February 2023
Burning Sun owner Lee Seung-hyun – commonly known as Seungri and dubbed the ‘Great Gatsby of South Korea’ for his lavish party lifestyle – was also in the group chat.
Seungri, who rose to fame with the world-famous boy band, BIG BANG, was indicted on charges of organising prostitution, habitual gambling, and illegal foreign currency trade.
At the time his crimes were made public, Seungri left the entertainment business.
‘It would be better for me to retire from the entertainment business at this point,’ Seungri said in a statement posted on his Instagram account in March 2019.
Seungri (second from left) was part of popular South Korean band Big Bang – which had a huge following
He suggested that he was concerned he would cause ‘further damage to people around me,’ and he would be ‘criticized [sic] by the public and being treated as a nation’s enemy during the investigation.’
Seungri got a three year sentence in 2021, but it was reduced to one and a half years. He was released from prison in February 2023.
Choi Jong-hoon – Rape and bribing a police officer
Choi Jong-hoon, arrives at the Seoul Police Station in Seoul, South Korea on March 16, 2019
Choi Jong-hoon was a former member of South Korean boy band FT Island – acting as the leader, guitarist, and keyboardist.
In 2016, along with Jung, he gang-raped a woman – with friends and members of the chatroom present.
He was sentenced to five years prison for rape. This was later reduced to two and a half years. It is understood that he was released from prison in 2021.
He was also booked for bribery after offering a police officer money when he was caught drunk driving in 2016.
Despite the disgrace, Choi has reportedly spoken recently about plans to go back into the entertainment industry.
Kris Wu – Rape and tax evasion
Kris Wu, 33, pictured, was sentenced to 11 years and six months for rape and one year and ten months for gathering people to commit adultery. He was found to have raped three women at his home from November to December 2020
Nineteen-year-old student Du Meizhu, pictured, accused Wu of date-raping her when she was 17, resulting in a barrage of public criticism and luxury brands dropping deals with him
A Canadian former K-pop star who raped three drunk women including a 17-year-old student was today handed a 13-year jail sentence by a Chinese court.
Kris Wu was part of the popular boyband EXO and left in 2014, launching a successful solo career as a singer, actor, model and variety show judge.
In 2021, nineteen-year-old student Du Meizhu accused Wu of date-raping her when she was 17, resulting in a barrage of public criticism and luxury brands dropping deals with him.
He was found to have raped three drunk women at his home from November to December 2020.
The 33-year-old and others also attacked two women they got drunk in 2018.
Wu, who grew up in Guangzhou in China and in Vancouver, British Columbia, was sentenced to 11 years and six months for rape and one year and ten months for gathering people to commit adultery.
The former star, whose full name is Wu Yifan, is expected to be deported after serving his jail term.
Kris Wu was part of the popular boyband EXO before launching a solo career
The ex-pop star was also fined 600 million yuan ($84 million) for tax evasion by the Beijing Municipal Tax Service.
Xinhua reported that Wu had used a fake business to convert the nature of his income and falsely declare it.
He had also evaded 95 million yuan of tax by concealing personal income through multiple domestic and overseas affiliated companies and underpaid 84 million yuan of tax.
Dahee – Blackmail
The singer had targeted her ex-boyfriend, Lee Byung Hun, saying she would release a video of him saying ‘inappropriate sexual jokes’
Dahee, who was a member of girl group GLAM in the early 2010s, was at the peak of fame in the K pop world when she was exposed as being behind a blackmail plot.
The singer had targeted her ex-boyfriend, Lee Byung Hun, saying she would release a video of him saying ‘inappropriate sexual jokes’ if he did not pay her 5 billion Korean Won (roughly $4.2 million) in 2014.
Lee Byung Hun immediately filed a complaint with the police, and Dahee – whose real name was – Kim Si Won was arrested on charges of attempted blackmail.
She was sentenced to imprisonment at the first trial, but on appeal, the sentence was reduced to a suspended sentence of one year in prison and two years of probation.
Kim Siwon now has a YouTube channel where she uploading dance and song covers of girl groups like IVE, BLACKPINK and more
She remained quiet throughout her probation period before relaunching her career – pivoting towards streaming rather than music – in 2018.
The influencer now has an Instagram with more than 130,000 followers and YouTube channel where she uploads dance and song covers of K-pop girl groups.
Park Yoochun – Drug charges
South Korean Park Yoo-chun (2nd L), (stage name: Micky Yoochun), member of boy band JYJ, being led to court in 2019
Korean singer and actor Park Yoochun admitted to purchasing methamphetamine with his ex-fiancé and using the drug on at least seven occasions.
He was sentenced to 10 months jail with a two year-suspension, and was also given a fine.
Yoochun’s contract was terminated by his management agency and he vowed he would leave the entertainment industry.
He had been a member of boyband TVXQ between 2003 and 2009 before leaving the group with two other members, forming the group JYJ.
And the tragedies which have engulfed the industry…
Not only has K-pop been embroiled in a string of scandals and controversies over recent years, the industry has also been plagued by tragedy.
Shockingly, many bright young stars have taken their own lives, while many more have been victims of trolling, intense pressure from industry bosses and misogynistic abuse.
Sulli – Took her own life after online abuse
A member of girl group f(x), K-pop star Sulli was found dead aged 25. It is believed that she took her own life
K-pop star and actor Sulli was found dead at her home in Seongnam aged 25 on 14 October 2019. It is believed that she took her own life.
A member of girl group f(x), launched by SM Entertainment in 2009, her band had achieved fame across the country and the world.
The star, born Choi Jin-ri, had received online abuse from trolls throughout her career, and announced in 2014 that she would be taking a break from her band due to ‘stress-related pain’.
She went on to focus on her acting career full-time in 2015, before launching a solo career with her first single coming out the year she died.
Sulli, 25, whose real name was Choi Jin-ri (pictured), was found dead by her manager at her home in Seongnam, south of the capital, Seoul
The trailblazing popstar caused a stir in South Korea’s traditionally conservative society for not wearing a bra and publicly displaying her romantic relationships.
She was a victim of homophobia after sharing a peck with her bandmate and best friend Goo Ha-Ra at her birthday party.
Just months before her death she took to Instagram Live to defend herself against what she called fans’ ‘gaze-rape’ – a phrase the Korea Times defined as meaning ‘excessive gazing that makes people feel violated’.
She was also an anomaly in the country’s music industry for speaking out about her struggles with panic disorders and being candid about the trolling she received online.
The online hate she received was decried by many following her death, with the fan culture surrounding her widely labelled toxic.
She was widely praised for being a positive force in exposing the abuse K-Pop stars could receive and rebelling against the strict boundaries imposed on them by the industry.
Goo Hara – Blackmail victim who took her own life
Goo Hara’s death came just weeks after her close friend, fellow K-Pop star Sulli, passed away
Still reeling from the death of Sulli, K-Pop fans received the tragic news that her close friend Goo Hara had also been found dead just weeks later.
Hara, 28, was a former member of K-Pop group Kara, which debuted in 2007.
Her death, a suspected suicide, came after a previous suicide attempt six months earlier, when her manager found her unconscious at her home.
The star had been through a difficult time in the year before her death, having taken her ex-boyfriend to court after he threatened to release a sex tape of them that he had filmed without her knowledge.
This kind of vile blackmailing is called ‘molka’ in South Korea, and had seen a huge rise and another woman taking her own life around the time of Hara’s death.
Moonbin – Suspected suicide
Singer, actor, dancer and model Moonbin was best known as a member of boy band Astro and its sub-unit Moonbin and Sanha
Moonbin, a 25-year-old singer, actor, dancer and model, was best known as a member of boy band Astro and its sub-unit Moonbin and Sanha.
His manager tragically found him dead at his home in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, last year, with police saying his death was a suspected suicide.
He is believed to have been found after he failed to show up for rehearsals.
Born Moon Bin, he was part of the original lineup for Astro, debuting with five other singers in 2016.
Astro’s record label Fantagio Music said at the time that the South Korean star had ‘suddenly left us and became a star in the sky’.
Moonbin, who was also the older brother of K-pop girl group star Moon Sua, of Billie, went on hiatus in 2019 for health-related reasons, but returned in 2020 to appear again with the group.
His death triggered further debate over the mental health crisis in South Korea – a country which has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world.
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