The following story contains mentions and details of sexual assault and suicide.
Late K-pop singer Goo Hara was recently revealed to have lent crucial aid to investigative reporters as the Burning Sun scandal unfolded in 2019.
The BBC World Service‘s investigative team, BBC Eye, published an extensive documentary yesterday (May 19) titled Burning Sun focused on the 2019 scandal in South Korea of the same name. The documentary primarily highlighted the case through the lens of two female investigative journalists – Kang Kyung-yoon and Park Hyo-sil – who blew the case wide open to the general public.
The documentary revealed new and never-before-seen details of the crimes committed as part of the scandal. It also shared key players involved in bringing justice to the victims affected by the Burning Sun scandal, revealing for the first time that the late Goo Hara, who was a member of girl group KARA and passed in late 2019, had been played a crucial part in exposing the people involved in the scandal.
Former Big Bang member Seungri was the owner of a nightclub sharing the scandal’s namesake, and also where majority of the crimes took place. He was convicted of nine charges, which included abetting prostitution and embezzlement. Convicted alongside him were singer-songwriter Jung Joon-young and former Kyung F.T. Island guitarist Choi Jong-hoon, who were both charged for gang-raping drunk and unconscious women.
Data leaks stemming from Jung’s mobile phone unveiled chatrooms where celebrities involved would share molkas (a South Korean term used to refer to hidden spy cameras and illicit filming) and engage in facilitating prostitutes for investors and Burning Sun’s VIPs.
Kang revealed to BBC that Hara was instrumental in providing the journalists with leads regarding the case, specifically in uncovering the identity of the police officer who was an accomplice in the Burning Sun scandal.
According to Kang, the officer’s identity was one of the biggest mysteries in the case. “Hara appeared and opened the door for me,” Kang said, telling BBC that the singer had contacted the reporter out of the blue. “Hara and Jong-hoon had been close since their debut, and she also knew Seungri and Joon-young.”
Kang continued: “She told me that, because she was friends with them, she’d seen them on their mobile phones before and said, ‘They’ve got some really weird things on there. What you said was right’.” According to Kang, Hara had personally called Jong-hoon to ask about the identity of the officer involved.
Hara’s brother, Goo Ho-in, was also interviewed as part of the documentary, telling BBC, “When Hara spoke to Jong-hoon on speakerphone, I was listening next to her. She said, ‘I can help you. Tell this reporter everything that you know’.”
Jong-hoon then proceeded to reveal the identity of the officer involved, named Yoon Kyu-keun, who was also stationed at the South Korean presidential residence at the time. The phone call was then recorded by Kang as evidence.
“Hara helped Jong-hoon to admit it,” Kang added in the documentary. “She was a very brave woman. She also said to me, ‘I am also a victim of revenge porn’.”
A year prior to the Burning Sun scandal, Hara had been involved in a lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend after he threatened to release intimate photos of her. The public trial had overlapped with the investigation into the Burning Sun scandal. Although Choi would later serve a year in prison for assault and blackmail, Hara took her own life at age 28 in 2019 before he was officially sentenced.
For help and advice on mental health:
- ‘Am I depressed?‘ – Help and advice on mental health and what to do next
- Help Musicians UK – Around the clock mental health support and advice for musicians
- Music Support Org – Help and support for musicians struggling with alcoholism, addiction, or mental health issues
- YOUNG MINDS – The voice for young people’s health and wellbeing
- CALM – The Campaign Against Living Miserably for young men
- Time To Change – Let’s end mental health discrimination
- The Samaritans – Confidential support 24 hours a day
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