K-pop singer Jung Joon-young admits to all charges, FT Island's Choi Jong-hoon booked for bribery
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Jung Joon-young turned up for a hearing on March 21 and said: "I am truly sorry. I admit to all charges against me."
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL - Will singer Jung Joon-young, accused of filming 10 women in sex acts and sharing the videos, be arrested on Thursday (March 21)?
He turned up on Thursday morning for a hearing to determine whether the warrant would be granted to the police.
Before a big crowd of reporters, Jung, 30, read from a statement, saying: "I am truly sorry. I admit to all charges against me.
"I bow my head in apology to the females who were victimised by my actions; to the females who suffered from... rumours online."
Jung, who had already announced his retirement from showbiz, allegedly shared the videos in a group chat with other K-pop artists, including former BigBang singer Seungri and FT Island's Choi Jong-hoon.
On Thursday, Choi was booked by the police for offering a bribe to cover up a drink-driving incident in 2016.
Korean media said Jung's lawyer had also been booked for destroying evidence linked to the singer's illicit filming of a girlfriend in sex acts.
The scandals, which prompted South Korea's President Moon Jae-in to urge for thorough probes to be conducted, had badly affected the share prices of K-pop agencies, such as YG Entertainment and FNC Entertainment.
YG shareholders are reportedly meeting on Friday (March 22) to determine whether company founder Yang Hyun-suk should be replaced.
Last week, the company apologised for not keeping closer tabs on its artists even as it terminated its contract with Seungri. He had been booked by the police for procuring prostitutes for top clients of his Burning Sun club.
The backlash has seen one artist seeming to make an attempt to distance herself from Seungri.
Nancy, a singer in girl group Momoland, has opted to tag her posts under the name Gooru.
With talk swirling that she had amended her name from Lee Seungri to Lee Gooru, the group's agency had to make a clarification, saying: "Nancy did not change her name. Her Korean name is still Lee Seungri.
"Gooru is not a new name but just a nickname she has been using."
