On March 2, news outlet eNEWS Today reported that BIGBANG’s G-Dragon was being reviewed for fitness for active-duty service and that the singer had the possibility of being discharged if the outcome regarded him unfit for active-duty service. The reason behind the evaluation has not been reported.

According to a source from the White Skull Unit that G-Dragon is part of, the investigation committee from the third division carried out a review of G-Dragon’s suitability for active-duty service, and he was deemed unfit by both his unit and division.

The final decision on G-Dragon’s discharge was to be made by a higher-level unit called the Military Discharge Review Committee of the Ground Operations Command. If deemed fit, G-Dragon would continue serving as an active-duty soldier, but if deemed ‘unfit,’ he would serve as a public service worker or be given a disqualified conscription status and be transferred to the Civil Defense Corps. According to eNEWS Today’s sources from the army, the decision made by the military units are seldom changed by the higher-level units.

However, later that day, a source from the army revealed that the final decision ruled G-Dragon as fit for active-duty service and that he will continue to serve in the army.

According to army regulation, those eligible for a review of fitness of active-duty service include soldiers with an illness, low intelligence, or other reasons for maladjustment to military service. Soldiers under the suspicion of having any of these problems are classified as “protective-concerned soldiers” and are specially managed. When the continuous maintenance results in an improvement in the soldier’s condition or adjustment ability, the soldier is removed from the list, but if the soldier does not get better, the soldier is forwarded to their division’s investigation committee. If the division’s investigation committee considers the soldier ‘unfit,’ the results are once again forwarded to the Military Discharge Review Committee of the Operations Command or Personnel Command, and the final service status decision is made by this committee.

Meanwhile, netizens have been speculating that G-Dragon received special treatment based on his military rank and the number of days he took off from his service.

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Be.A member Yeongkyun has taken to Instagram to address some comments made to him in the past, with outlets reporting that his post seems to be in light of recent controversies surrounding BIGBANG’s Seungri.

On March 1, Yeongkyun uploaded the following post on his Instagram:

You told me that you’d tell me something as a senior artist, and then in front of all the staff you said “Aren’t you the same age as me? If you can’t make it even after doing this much, then wouldn’t it be better for you to learn a trade? You need to make money so you can be filial to your parents.” It was given as advice, but it was like you stabbed me with a dagger and left.

Now, in front of the entire nation, it’s all coming back to you many times over.

I’ve always been filial towards my parents. =) It’s possible to be filial without using money. Thank you for teaching me that it’s important for people to be humble. #BurningSun #GHB #Prostitution

View this post on Instagram

선배로써 한마디 해주겠다며 스텝분들 다 보는 앞에서, 나랑 동갑 아닌가? 이만큼 해도 안 되는거면 기술이라도 배우는 게 낫지 않겠냐고 돈 벌어서 효도 해야지, 라고 조언이랍시고 비수를 꽂고 가시더니 이제 온 국민 앞에서 몇배로 돌아가네요 효도는 늘 잘 하고 있어요=)돈으로 효도 하는 거 아니더라고요ㅎ 사람은 역시 겸손해야 된다는걸 배우게는 해주셔서 감사하네요=) #버닝썬 #물뽕 #성매매

A post shared by 영균 (@yeong_kyun) on Mar 1, 2019 at 2:04am PST

Yeongkyun previously participated in the 2017 YG Entertainment survival show “MIXNINE,” on which Seungri appeared as a judge during evaluations.

Seungri has recently been swept up in controversies, including over allegations that he offered sexual favors from prostitutes to investors, which YG Entertainment has denied. This follows recent controversies surrounding the club Burning Sun, after a patron reported an assault incident at the club and concerns were raised about suspicions of drugs being regularly used as part of sexual assault at the establishment. Seungri has been linked to these controversies due to his associations with the club, although he and the CEOs have stated that he was only a consultant for the club and not involved in its management.

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The Seoul Police Department is still waiting for an original copy of the text messages tied to allegations surrounding BIGBANG’s Seungri.

On February 26, SBS funE released an exclusive report with alleged text messages from December 2015 that are said to have been shared between Seungri, CEO Yoo of Yuri Holdings, and an employee. According to the report, the text messages suggested that Seungri was involved in procuring sexual escort services for foreign business investors. Within the same day, the Seoul Police Department announced that they had launched an investigation into the claims.

YG Entertainment and Yuri Holdings have both released official statements denying the allegations. In their statement, Yuri Holdings claimed that a person had fabricated the text messages and submitted them to reporters to defame both Seungri and Yuri Holdings. Seungri expressed his wishes to fully cooperate with the police investigation and on February 27, underwent over eight hours of questioning.

On March 1, reports emerged that the police had yet to receive an original copy of the alleged text messages from the SBS funE reporter who published the exclusive article. A source from the Seoul Police Department’s Special Crimes Squad confirmed the news and explained, “We requested the KakaoTalk messages from the reporter who was first to report on the sexual escort services claims involving Seungri. However, we have not received them yet.”

The original copy of the text messages are needed to confirm their validity, especially as both YG Entertainment and Yuri Holdings maintain their stances that the messages were fabricated.

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You’re not going to believe how many new K-pop releases are coming up in March!

Get ready to mark your calendar as you check out the schedule of debuts, comebacks, and special releases below.

March 4

March 4 is one of the most jam-packed days of new K-pop in recent history! Here’s what’s coming up that Monday:

Big Hit Entertainment’s new boy group TXT debuts with “The Dream Chapter: STAR” featuring the title track “CROWN.”

Sunmi returns with her new song “Noir,” which she co-composed and wrote the lyrics for.

SHINee’s Key releases his repackaged album “I Wanna Be,” including a title track of the same name that features (G)I-DLE’s Jeon Soyeon. March 4 is also the day of his enlistment for mandatory military service.

INFINITE’s Dongwoo makes a solo debut with his mini album “Bye” including the title track “News.”

Former Rainbow member Jisook releases her first mini album “The Star.”

March 5

GOT7’s new sub-unit Jus2 (JB and Yugyeom) debuts on March 5 with their mini album “FOCUS.” The music video for their title track “Focus on Me” will come out first at midnight KST on March 4.

VIXX’s Ravi releases his second solo mini album “R.OOK BOOK” with the title track “TUXEDO” that day.

Dalsooobin (formerly Dal Shabet’s Subin) shares her new single “Katchup” on March 5.

March 6

NCT’s Doyoung and Rocoberry have teamed up for a digital single that’s due out on March 6.

Boy group HBY returns on March 6 with their second single album “YOLO.”

YG Entertainment subsidiary YGX’s first artist Anda has teamed up with The Black Label producer R.Tee for the collaboration track “What You Waiting For,” which is due out that day.

S.I.S makes a comeback on March 6 their third single “Always Be Your Girl.”

MeloMance’s Kim Min Seok releases his second solo single that day.

March 8

Hong Jin Young releases her full album “Lots of Love” on March 8.

March 9

DinDin drops a new track on March 9 that will feature MAMAMOO’s Wheein.

March 11

Epik High shares their new full album “sleepless in __________” on March 11, including a collaborator lineup with BTS’ Suga, Yuna, Sunwoo Junga, Crush, and Code Kunst.

New boy group ARGON under MSH Entertainment debuts on March 11 with their first single “MASTER KEY.”

PENTAGON’s Wooseok and Lai Kuanlin will be making their unit debut that day with the first mini album “9801.”

March 12

DreamNote releases their second single album “Dream:us” on March 12.

Kim Yoon Hee of “Fantastic Duo 2” and “K-pop Star 6” debuts that day with her first single.

March 13

Park Bom returns with long-awaited new music on March 13, including a title track featuring Sandara Park that was written by Brave Brothers.

GWSN makes their first comeback as they release the mini album “The Park in the Night Part Two” that day.

March 14

MAMAMOO makes a comeback on March 14 with “WHITE WIND.”

100% also releases their new mini album “RE:tro” that day.

March 15

Bang Yong Guk shares his first full solo album “BANGYONGGUK” on March 15.

March 28

DIA is scheduled to make a comeback on March 28.

More to look forward to

There’s lots more coming up in March without official release dates yet!

More artists that have announced plans to share new music in March include BLACKPINK, NU’EST, Park Ji Hoon, Jeong Sewoon, MOMOLAND, KARD, Stray Kids, Super Junior’s Yesung, and Suran. Taeyeon was reported to be planning to release new music in March ahead of her concerts that month, although SM has stated that nothing is confirmed yet.

Which March release are you the most excited about?

YG has responded to a report that they had called in a document shredding service to destroy evidence regarding Seungri’s Burning Sun incident.

According to a report from news outlet Chosun.com, on February 28 KST, two trucks from a document shredding service arrived at YG Entertainment’s headquarters. One truck driver arrived at 6:35 a.m. and told Chosun.com that it was his first time coming to the YG headquarters. At 6:57 a.m., four workers from the document shredding company parked a 2-ton truck near the annex and began to move dozens of boxes from the building to the trucks. During the process, five YG employees were looking around outside, and when the reporters began to collect data for news, they stated, “You can’t take photos here.”

An hour later at 7:55 a.m., the document shredding services workers parked the truck near the main building. Due to the angle, Chosun.com was unable to see what was being moved, but the transfer of heavy objects continued for another 50 minutes. Both trucks began to leave the area at 8:43 a.m. When Chosun.com stopped a document shredding company worker to ask if the entire process was over, he responded, “They told me to come again later.” Another source revealed, “There were boxes, paper bags, and suitcases, and judging from the weight, there seemed to be electronics like computers as well.”

An employee from the document shredding company also explained, “We usually [start working] at 9 a.m. We also work at dawn when the client requests it, but most clients avoid doing so because they have to pay extra money. But companies in the public eye like entertainment agencies or news outlets often [request] that the work be done at dawn. We not only destroy documents but also other things like smartphones or computers.”

In a call with a reporter, YG Entertainment stated, “It was a periodic document destruction process we undertake every month or quarter.”

A source from an investigation unit from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated, “There is no way we would have known about YG destroying their documents. [Even if we had known,] there is no justification for stopping them from destroying their documents when a direct connection between YG and the Burning Sun incident has not been found yet.”

Below is a footage from Chosun.com showing the boxes being moved into the trucks.

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The results have come out regarding the first round of drug tests for BIGBANG’s Seungri.

On February 28, Seungri’s legal representatives revealed, “According to the police, there were no issues with the first round of drug tests and [Seungri] was tested negative. Because a hair follicle testing will be able to detect drugs up to two to three years prior to the test, it has been sent to the National Institute of Scientific Investigation. We were told to expect the results one or two weeks later.”

They added, “We are anticipating the truths for many allegations to be revealed shortly.”

On February 27 at 9 p.m. KST, Seungri arrived at the police station and underwent questioning about the various controversies and allegations surrounding him. The singer was released eight and a half hour later.

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BIGBANG’s Seungri, after expressing his wishes to cooperate with police investigations, spent the night at the police station undergoing questioning about the various controversies and allegations surrounding him.

The singer arrived at the station at 9 p.m. February 27. He said, “This morning, I submitted a petition asking for a thorough investigation into myself. Once again, I apologize for causing concern and anger with the various controversies and accusations. I will earnestly cooperate with investigations so that the truth can be revealed as soon as possible.”

Eight and a half hours later, Seungri was released. It was revealed that the singer submitted to urine and follicle tests in addition to answering questions about the drug and sexual escort service allegations.

Speaking to press on his way out of the station, Seungri said, “Questioning for all allegations has been finished. Regarding drugs, I underwent all drug tests requested by the narcotics unit. Many people are angry about the various controversies, and I will cooperate with police so that all suspicions can be dispelled.”

Closing, he said, “I ask that you wait for the results of the investigation. If the police require anything else, I will return for further questioning.”

Previously, on February 26, an exclusive news report by SBS funE revealed text messages that suggested Seungri was involved in preparing sexual escort services for business investors. The allegations were denied by Seungri, who told his agency, YG Entertainment, that the text messages were fabricated.

The report came not long after controversies arose around the club Burning Sun, which, after an assault incident brought to the public by a club patron, became embroiled in drug dealing, sexual assault, and hidden camera allegations. Seungri was also swept up in these controversies for his association with the club, although both he and the CEO stated that Seungri was simply a consultant for the establishment and not involved in management in any way.

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Top Photo Credit: Xportsnews