Roy Kim also member of K-pop stars' spycam sex clip group chat: police
Singers Roy Kim, behind, and Jung Joon-young pose together after a workout in this Instagram photo posted by Kim in October. Roy Kim's Instagram page
Seungri, another member of the chatroom, faces additional embezzlement charges in growing Burning Sun scandal
By Lee Suh-yoon
To the dismay of fans, acclaimed singer Roy Kim is the latest figure allegedly involved in the growing sexual misconduct scandal involving male K-pop stars, which surfaced earlier this year from the ongoing investigation over drug, rape and prostitution allegations at certain upscale clubs in Gangnam.
Police said Tuesday that Kim was a member of a
where disgraced K-pop star Jung Joon-young shared at least 13 sex clips taken without the consent or knowledge of his partners. Misogynistic comments followed the shared spycam clips in the chatroom, snippets of the mobile conversation revealed by local media showed.
Kim, 25, rose to fame after winning season 4 of “Superstar K,” the Korean equivalent of the “American Idol” music audition program, during his gap year before college in 2012. This is when he befriended Jung, who was also a contestant and came in third.
Kim is currently attending Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for his record label, Stone Music Entertainment, issued a statement Wednesday saying Kim will return to Korea to present himself to the police for questioning.
“We're still working out the schedule, but Kim will return as soon as possible,” Jung Won-jung, told The Korea Times. “He will faithfully comply with the investigation.”
Police will decide whether to book Kim or not depending on whether he was just a spectator or actually shared spycam clips of his own inside the group chat.
Former Big Bang member Seungri and FT Island member Choi Jong-hoon were also part of this mobile chatroom, with Seungri sharing sexually explicit spycam photos once and Choi on three occasions, according to forensic evidence acquired by the police.
Seungri, the owner of the now-closed Burning Sun club, had been booked for evading tax by improper business registration and arranging prostitution services for foreign investors. And he now faces another charge of embezzlement, after police found five bank accounts ― opened with "borrowed" names ― used by Seungri to siphon out tens of millions of won from the club.
He also allegedly embezzled part of the earnings from Monkey Museum, another bar of which he was the co-owner.
The police said last week they had booked seven out of 16 participants in 23 different group or one-on-one mobile chatrooms for disseminating spycam content ― including Jung, Seungri, and Choi.
Under Korean law, a person who shares sexually explicit photos or videos taken without a person's consent or knowledge can be subject up to five years in jail or a maximum 30 million won fine ($26,000).