'I'm trying to be quiet but it's not working out': Disgraced Seungri says appearance at alleged Burning Sun Surabaya event untrue

Controversy is surrounding this disgraced former BigBang member once again.

Seungri, 33, has been under fire after a digital event poster by Indonesian organiser TSV Management shared on Aug 10 circulated online.

The event, named Burning Sun Surabaya and scheduled for Aug 31, was marketed as a "K-pop night party", with a photo of Seungri placed prominently in the poster.

The event circulated on social media platforms like X, and netizens slammed him for being "shameless" and having "no remorse" as he was labelled "best honour" in the poster and believed to be a guest in attendance.

Seungri, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, co-founded the Burning Sun nightclub in Seoul which faced allegations of sex crimes in 2019, including the drugging and trafficking of women to high-profile individuals and the distribution of non-consensual sex videos in chat rooms.

As a result of the scandal, K-pop singer Jung Joon-young was jailed for six years and FT Island guitarist Choi Jong-hoon sentenced to five years in prison.

Seungri was sentenced to three years' jail for prostitution-related and gambling offences by a military court while he was serving his mandatory military service, which was later reduced to 1.5 years after two appeals.

He was released in February last year.

Seungri, however, told South Korean media Daily Sports on Aug 11 that his supposed appearance at the Indonesian event is "untrue": "I'm trying to be quiet but it's not working out."

"I want to stay quiet, but I want to set the record straight because my story keeps coming up and people are tired of it," he said, adding, "All the rumours about what I'm doing in Hong Kong, what I'm doing in Cambodia and so on are nonsense."

He claimed that he doesn't know where Surabaya is, and has no plans to attend the event: "It's so obviously ridiculous."

"I think we'll know whether it's true or not (that I'm not attending it) when the day comes, but if I don't correct it, people will believe it."

Seungri said that he will be taking legal action for defamation of character and publication of falsehoods through a local law firm, and also addressed allegations surrounding his other recent controversies.

Early this year, he was rumoured to be settling down in Hong Kong and opening a nightclub there.

"I visited on a personal schedule because my acquaintance opened a pub [in Hong Kong], not because someone invited me to attend the event for money. I just said that I liked it because it looked really good, but some reports said that I invested in the local area," Seungri clarified.

He also said it "doesn't make sense" for him to open another club when he's "in this situation because of a club". "I've never thought about it, I never planned to do it, I never talked to anyone about it."

He then apologised for claiming that he would bring BigBang member G-Dragon to Cambodia during his fanmeet in the country: "I got too excited and unintentionally mentioned his name… It was wrong, and it won't happen again."

Seungri said he's spent a lot of time with family and "lived a normal life" after imprisonment.

He concluded with another apology: "I will try to be more responsible and keep quiet, so that people don't get tired of hearing about me anymore."

TSV Management's CEO Saverio The and a representative of Gentlemens - the club where the event is due to be held - posted a video addressing the controversy after immense backlash.

The apologised and claimed that the poster did not indicate that Seungri would be in attendance: "The 'best honour Seungri' and the title Burning Sun Surabaya are intended to convey to all of us, especially women, and K-pop music lovers to stay safe during nightlife, especially at clubs and parties where the activities in the Burning Sun incident can easily be found."

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syarifahsn@asiaone.com