Jun Won Corporation has issued a statement in response to reports suspecting the company of embezzlement.

Jun Won Corporation is the company that previously manged Le Méridien Hotel, where Burning Sun is located. It was reported that Jun Won Corporation invested around 1.2 billion won (approximately $1,077,810) into Burning Sun.

On April 12, Jun Won Corporation stated through a press release, “We are here to report that suspicions of Jun Won Corporation’s embezzlement are not true.”

The company first denied a report made by MBC’s “Newsdesk” on April 11, which stated that Jun Won Corporation had rented out 1,000 square meters of space to Burning Sun at a monthly payment of 16.66 million won (approximately $14,700). MBC stated that police had found Burning Sun paying over 100 million won (approximately $88,200) in rent money, which is six times the initial amount. According to the report, police launched into an investigation as they suspected that this money was not for rent, but instead money that diverted Burning Sun’s profits to Jun Won Corporation. It was also reported that the scale of Jun Won Corporation and Seungri’s embezzlement amounted to 600 million won (approximately $529,000)

In response to this, Jun Won Corporation stated that because it normally takes a business at least six months to get to a stable state after its opening, the initial rent for Burning Sun was set at 16.66 million won. Three months after Burning Sun’s opening, however, the monthly rent was raised to 100 million won to meet the market price of the surrounding area. Jun Won Corporation explained that this rent was issued monthly based on rental sales, and that Burning Sun also properly handled the accounting through a bank account for the rental payments. According to the company, this information can be found in the National Tax Service’s records as well.

Jun Won Corporation also added that the allegations of the company receiving Burning Sun’s profit “dividends” in the name of “rent” was not true, as if it really were the dividend, it should vary in proportion to monthly sales. However, the rent received by Jun Won Corporation was fixed at 100 million won per month.

The company then explained that it did not give Burning Sun favorable treatment by initially setting the rent at 16.66 million won, and that the rent was raised after mutual agreement. It also revealed that the company was investigated by the police on April 11 and would participate in future investigations if needed, while actively addressing any suspicions that are untrue.

Jun Won Corporation clarified that it had not been involved in the management of Burning Sun, and that the rumors of it being the de facto owner of the club are not true either. It had only invested in Burning Sun Entertainment after highly regarding Seungri’s business value.

In regards to its lease with Burning Sun, which had been upheld from late December 2017 to February 2018, Jun Won Corporation revealed that the ongoing issued had caused investment losses. Due to this, the company terminated its contract with Burning Sun and requested procedures for corporate liquidation.

Jun Won Corporation concluded it will take legal actions against reports stating that Jun Won Corporation was the actual owner of Burning Sun, and said that the Le Méridien Hotel chain had nothing to do with the Burning Sun issues.

On April 11, Seungri and former Yuri Holdings CEO Yoo In Suk were booked on suspicions of embezzling funds from Burning Sun.

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Following MBC and KBS, SBS has made an official statement regarding Jung Joon Young, Seungri, and Choi Jong Hoon appearing on their network.

On April 12, it was reported that the three involved in the ongoing chatroom controversy have been banned from appearing on any SBS shows. Later that day, a source from SBS made a statement regarding the reports.

The source stated, “As there is concern regarding blacklisting, there has been no official internal discussion on appearance restrictions or bans. However, the directors personally devote themselves to making judgments, so they are implicitly refraining from casting celebrities that have invoked public criticism.”

The source continued, “In this current situation to be honest, there are no directors that would cast these celebrities right away. At a certain point, if a producer believes that a celebrity has had sufficient self-reflection and wants to cast the celebrity, then the committee can discuss and make a decision on the appearance.”

Previously, MBC banned Jung Joon Young and temporarily restricted Seungri and Choi Jong Hoon from appearing on the network’s broadcasts. KBS also temporarily restricted the three from appearing on any shows associated with the network.

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On April 12, a source from MBC revealed, “Jung Joon Young’s broadcasted appearances have been banned because he was arrested.”

The source continued, “It is hard to restrict broadcasted appearances of Seungri and Choi Jong Hoon because they are only being investigated, but we acknowledge the gravity of this matter. Thus, we have temporarily restricted the two from appearing [on MBC].”

The source further explained that the level of restrictions regarding Seungri and Choi Jong Hoon will be redetermined in compliance with the result of the ongoing investigations.

On April 9, KBS also announced that they have decided to include Jung Joon Young, Seungri, and Choi Jong Hoon on their list of people who are banned from appearing on any shows associated with the network.

Jung Joon Young was placed under arrest in March for filming and distributing videos containing hidden camera footage. Seungri was booked and is currently being investigated for suspicions of prostitution mediation, violating food sanitation laws, spreading illegal footage, and embezzlement. Lastly, Choi Jong Hoon was booked for filming and sharing illegal footage, which he admitted to committing on April 11.

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According to a new report by Star Today, Seungri and former Yuri Holdings CEO Yoo In Suk have been booked on suspicions of embezzling funds from Burning Sun.

Authorities traced a portion of Burning Sun’s capital to Seungri and Yoo In Suk after it was moved through various accounts and other abnormal routes, and they have obtained testimony from someone related to the matter.

Police have also booked the CEO of Jeonwon Saneop, a company that holds 42 percent share of Burning Sun, after finding that funds from the club had also been moved to the company through methods similar to Seungri and Yoo In Suk.

Investigations are ongoing, and authorities are currently performing a search and seizure at the offices of Jeonwon Saneop and Yuri Holdings for financial records. Police estimate that the embezzled funds amount to tens of millions of won (approximately tens of thousands of dollars). A source stated that some suspicions have already been confirmed, and added, “Because the embezzled amount could increase after investigations, we cannot reveal any specifics at this time.”

Previously, Seungri and Yoo In Suk were booked for embezzling from the club Monkey Museum.

In addition to embezzlement, Seungri is under investigation for prostitution mediation, bribery, and sharing illegally taken footage.

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Roy Kim, Eddy Kim, and former FTISLAND member Choi Jong Hoon have admitted to spreading illegally filmed photos. Choi Jong Hoon has also admitted to filming illegal footage.

On April 11, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s provincial special detective division revealed at a press conference that Choi Jong Hoon will be forwarded to prosecutors on charges of sharing one personally taken illegal footage and five other footage from other sources, thus violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes.

Roy Kim and Eddy Kim will also be forwarded to the proseuction for sharing illegally taken photos. They admitted to sharing photos that they downloaded from the internet in the group chatroom, but not to filming photos or videos.

A total of five people were forwarded to the public prosecutor’s office, including Mr. Kim, a former MD (promoter) of Club Arena that was part of the group chatroom, for filming and spreading illegal footage.

The investigations surrounding Seungri, who was also part of the chatroom, are still ongoing. He was booked on charges of sharing illegal footage, but it was not confirmed whether or not he filmed any footage. As Seungri was also booked for several other charges including prostitution mediation and bribery, the police plan to forward his case to the prosecutor’s office after all of the investigations are complete.

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Police have launched an investigation into further suspicions of Seungri mediating services of a sexual nature for foreign investors.

On April 10, JTBC’s “Newsroom” reported that Seungri made a reservation at a famous restaurant located in Gangnam on December of 2015 to entertain foreign investors and later provided prostitution services for his guests.

After obtaining information about this, police have recently started an investigation to confirm the validity of the allegations.

According to a worker at the restaurant, the police began investigating the restaurant shortly after Seungri’s scandals began to come to light in March. When JTBC asked if Seungri reserved the first and second floor of the restaurant, the staff member responded, “He reserved a large room on the second floor.”

Police suspect that the group dined at the restaurant and then moved to a secondary location for the sexual services.

A source at the police stated, “We’ve obtained the schedule of Seungri’s party from that day.”

The police are looking into whether the women were initially present at the restaurant, and the number and identities of those who were present.

Seungri’s lawyer has denied these allegations being investigated by the police by stating that they are not true.

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KBS has decided to include Jung Joon Young, Seungri, and Choi Jong Hoon on their list of people who are restricted or banned from appearing on any shows associated with the channel.

A source from KBS stated, “The deliberation committee met late last month and came to the decision to temporarily restrict their broadcasted appearances.” In compliance with the rules of the committee that deliberates restrictions on broadcasted appearances, KBS can make the decision to warn, temporarily restrict, or ban celebrities from their programs if that celebrity has taken part in immoral actions that are deserving of public criticism.

However, the restrictions placed on Jung Joon Young, Seungri, and Choi Jong Hoon are not permanent. If they are cleared of their charges or once they have spent an adequate amount of time in self-reflection, another committee hearing will be held on whether to lift the restriction.

Jung Joon Young was placed under arrest in March for filming and distributing videos containing hidden camera footage. Seungri has been booked for charges including prostitution mediation, violation of food sanitation law, spreading illegal footage, and embezzlement, while Choi Jong Hoon was booked for sexual assault from filming a sex video without consent. Eddy Kim and Roy Kim have also been booked on charges of spreading illegally taken photos.

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