In South Korea, former K-pop star Seungri has been sentenced to three years in prison on charges of prostitution and gambling.
A military court found the singer, who had been killed in a sex and drug scandal, guilty on Thursday on all nine counts, the Ministry of Defense announced in Seoul.
The ex-member of the successful boy band Bigbang also has to pay a fine of 1.15 billion won (around 750,000 euros).
The 30-year-old Seungri, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, had had success with Bigbang since 2006 and also developed into a successful businessman.
When the scandal caught up with him in 2019, he ended his music career and joined the army as a military service.
Therefore, a military tribunal was responsible for his trial.
Prostitutes referred to business partners
The court now saw it as proven that Seungri referred prostitutes to business partners and illegally gambled for money in luxury casinos in Las Vegas.
Because it was about money in foreign currencies, he was also charged with illegal currency transactions.
"It is hard to imagine that the defendant did not know about the money the women were paid for sex," said judge Hwang Min-je, according to South Korean media reports.
“It seems as if he systematically engaged in prostitution.” Because Seungri made different statements in the police interrogation and in court, he also lacks credibility.
The Seungri scandal also led to allegations against other South Korean musicians and against employees of YG Entertainment, Seungri's former agency and one of the largest K-pop companies.
Agency chief Yang Hyun-suk resigned over investigations into illegal gambling.