Owner of Arena club, linked to Seungri scandal, arrested for tax evasion

Arena club was mentioned by Singapore socialite Kim Lim in refuting talk that former BigBang singer Seungri (above) had arranged for women to party with her there in 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS

SEOUL - A club in Seoul - mentioned by Singapore socialite Kim Lim in refuting talk that former BigBang singer Seungri had arranged for women to party with her there in 2015 - is in the news again.

The Korea Herald said a court on Tuesday (March 26) issued an arrest warrant for the owner of the Arena club - a man surnamed Kang - over charges of tax evasion.

He is said to have under-reported income at the club, and artificially bumped up staff salaries, in a ploy to pay less tax.

The club was raided by police recently over allegations that Seungri procured prostitutes for potential investors there.

On Monday (March 25), the authorities summoned a top employee of Burning Sun - another club linked to Seungri - over claims that the man had paid bribes to escape punishment for serving underaged customers.

The police also seized accounting records kept by Burning Sun in a raid last month.

Seungri, who has been booked by the police, has retired from showbiz.

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