Seungri enlisted in the military on March 9, 2020, and his [civilian criminal] case was transferred to the military court. His trial started on September 16, consisting in eight charges. Seungri denied all charges except one, violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, for which he stated he was deeply reflecting on his mistake.
Regarding the allegations related to prostitution (prostitution mediation and prostitution for self), Seungri's lawyer stated that Seungri had no reason to mediate prostitution and that he didn't remember having sexual intercourse with the woman in question, who he thought was just a person who wanted to meet him. During the trial, the witnesses confirmed that it was Yoo In-Seok who ordered prostitution, not Seungri.
Regarding the charge of distributing obscene material, Seungri's Defense stated that he only shared with friends a photo that wasn't taken by him, but was sent to him from an entertainment bar.
For the charge of habitual gambling, Seungri's lawyer answered that Seungri didn't gamble as a habit, and that he visited the USA for work and not purposely for gambling. Habitual gambling is illegal but not gambling for momentary pleasure.
The charge of embezzlement is divided in two different charges, for which Seungri's side declared that Seungri had no motive or intent to commit embezzlement. Seungri's charges also include Violation of Food Sanitation Act (for inappropriately declaring Monkey Museum as a restaurant instead of an entertainment establishment).
On January 14 the Prosecution added against Seungri the charge of eliciting violence. In 2015, a drunk customer in a bar entered into the private room of Seungri and his acquaintances: the Prosecution claimed that after an argument, Seungri called Yoo In-Seok who involved gang members into the argument to threaten the man. The Prosecution claimed Seungri conspired with Yoo thus charging him as instigating co-conspirator. However, Seungri claimed that he didn't have anything to do with the gangsters, and during the 15th hearing one of the alleged victims said that he didn't feel threatened at the time, while the other one stated that he didn't know at all that Seungri could be related to the incident.
The trial also encountered an issue related to confirmation bias: on March 25, 2021, after the 13th hearing for Seungri's trial, a witness claimed that the police had wrote up a statement against Seungri that he actually never made. Other Prosecution witnesses also claimed that the investigators put pressure on them in giving false testimonies, probably due to the pressure from media and public to find Seungri guilty. Many of the witnesses also claimed that the Prosecution slightly changed their answers or seemed to have designed questioning with the target of necessarily arriving at Seungri's name.
On August 12 2021, Seungri was sentenced to a three-year prison term, a fine of 1.15 billion won (US$990,000) and immediate detention.
This news account says the prosecution and defense have both appealed, adding:
According to the Military Court Act, a sentence of a fine or imprisonment must receive confirmation from the relevant authorities. A source from the military court stated, “If a confirmation letter from the relevant authorities is submitted to the court within 10 days of the sentencing trial, then the defendant will be served the judgment.”
Seungri’s lawyer had already declared his intent to appeal on August 12, so a second trial had already been expected. As Seungri submitted his appeal to the military court before his discharge from the military, the appeal trial will be held at the High Military Court in Yongsan, Seoul.
Seungri is scheduled to be discharged from mandatory military service on September 16. As he has appealed his sentence, as long as he continues to fulfill his duties until the second trial is complete, he will be discharged as usual. If he had not appealed his sentence, he would have been transferred into the wartime labor division as he received a prison sentence and a fine, according to Article 137 of the Military Service Act.
But why was this case tried in military court ?
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