Burning Sun scandal: K-pop singers Jung Joon-young jailed 6 years, Choi Jong-hoon 5 years

K-pop singer Jung Joon-young was sentenced to six years of jail after being convicted of collective sexual assault and distribution of illegal materials by the Seoul Central District Court this morning (Nov 29), The Korea Herald reported.

The trial also saw the sentencing of his friend, fellow K-pop singer Choi Jong-hoon, to five years behind bars for his involvement.

On top of that, the pair will be required to undergo 80 hours of sexual violence education. They have also been barred from working in any facility dealing with children or teenagers for five years thereinafter.

Jung and Choi were charged earlier this year in the midst of the Burning Sun scandal for secretly filming their own sexual encounters and sharing them with other celebrities in chat groups through the messaging app, KakaoTalk. Jung confessed to all 11 cases of illegal filming. 

The Burning Sun scandal is the largest entertainment and sex scandal to hit the K-pop industry.

An investigation on the Burning Sun nightclub this year exposed underlying prostitution, drug trafficking and police corruption involving high-profile celebrities such as ex-Big Bang member Seungri and other K-pop idols. The stars also collected and circulated videos of themselves having sex with women. 

After their arrests, a victim came forward claiming that the pair, along with three other men, were involved in a gang rape in 2016. Choi denied the allegation then.

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Other celebrities involved in the scandal have also been sentenced to serve time in prison. Kwon Hyuk-jun, the older brother of Girls Generation's Yuri, was given four years; Burning Sun's marketing director 'Kim' had five, while former entertainment agency employee 'Heo' received two years of probation.

rainercheung@asiaone.com