The following story contains mentions and details of sexual assault.
Former HIGHLIGHT rapper Yong Jun-hyung has broken his silence about his involvement in the 2019 Burning Sun scandal in a new post on his Instagram.
Former Big Bang member Seungri was the owner of a nightclub sharing the scandal’s namesake, 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 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.
While Yong was not directly implicated in the crimes committed, he was one of numerous public figures identified as a member of the chatrooms and would later admit to watching the videos sent. After facing massive backlash for this involvement in the scandal, Yong left HIGHLIGHT and their label, Around Us Entertainment, that same year.
The Burning Sun scandal re-entered both South Korean and global public consciousness last month after the BBC World Service‘s investigative team, BBC Eye, published an extensive documentary revisiting the scandal and exposing new details about the crimes committed.
Yong has since broken his silence regarding his involvement in the scandal and the chatrooms in a statement posted to his personal Instagram statement earlier today (June 12). “Back then, I was undoubtedly foolish and made mistakes. I couldn’t correct the wrong situation, and amid heated criticism without knowing what the right choice was, I was fearful and didn’t want to cause harm to [Around Us Entertainment] and the [HIGHLIGHT] members,” he wrote, as translated by Soompi.
“So, I made the choice to leave the group with the determination to lose everything from the place that was everything to me for years.” Yong then alleged that the videos sent to him were presented with a blacked-out thumbnail without descriptions, and that he “had no way to know what it was or what the intention was” before opening them. “I could have said ‘Stop, this is wrong’, but I couldn’t become the person who can say this, and I just shrugged it off.”
“As I explained and appealed even afterwards, I never joined that certain group chat room nor was involved in the incident where despicable things that I don’t even want to speak of happened,” Yong claimed in his statement.
“For years, many media outlets and people have repeatedly labelled me as one of the figures involved in that incident stating that I was a member of the chat room and that I consumed illegal footage.” He added that “to everyone and and in every article, I became the same kind of person as those people with whom I have nothing to do with.” Yong also noted that he tried “ignoring [the situation] without working up the courage”.
Although he assured that he will “endure” the criticism he continues to face about his involvement, he asked that his loved ones, including fans “not be hurt” by his actions. “I will strive every day to deeply reflect on the aspects that I couldn’t correct in the past and the foolish actions and remarks in order to become a mature person,” he concluded.
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