The fallen star of K-pop Seungri also under investigation for illegal betting

Seoul (AFP)

The clouds are piling up on the fallen star of K-pop Seungri who was questioned Wednesday by the South Korean police in connection with an investigation into illegal bets abroad, according to an AFP journalist.

The 28-year-old boy band singer BIGBANG, one of the biggest K-pop bands, announced in March that he was stepping down from the entertainment world, following revelations of a resounding sex scandal including prostitution.

He is also suspected of illegal gambling transactions in luxury Las Vegas casinos.

Dressed in a dark suit, Seungri arrived in a black sedan at a police station in Seoul, in front of which a crowd of journalists were waiting for him.

"I apologize again for the concern I raised," he said. "It is with the greatest sincerity that I come to the hearing by the police."

Seungri, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, is currently entangled in a vast scandal of prostitution.

The investigation showed that the singer and his partner had supplied a dozen prostitutes in 2015 to a group of Japanese investors in their nightclub, the Burning Sun, according to the South Korean agency Yonhap.

The duo is also accused of hijacking about 530 million won (400,000 euros) of their business and breaking sanitary regulations in the Burning Sun.

The scandal also splashed the former singer's agent, YG Entertainment, who is one of South Korea's biggest producers.

YG Entertainment was also the agent of the singer Psy who contributed with his global success Psy "Gangnam Style" to the popularity of K-pop.

Yang Hyun-suk, founder of YG Entertainment, is also to be questioned by police on Thursday in the investigation of illegal bets and cash transfers to Seungri.

BIGBANG is one of South Korea's most popular boys band. Since its debut in 2006, it has sold more than 140 million albums worldwide.

The K-pop industry is paying billions of dollars to South Korea and the government is actively supporting it as an export product. The stars of the "Korean wave" stormed Asia but also became popular in the rest of the world.

© 2019 AFP