Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Following news of his booking for alleged violation of anti-prostitution laws and then allegedly being a part of a group chat where hidden camera videos and pictures were shared, Seungri has now released a statement on Instagram announcing his retirement from the entertainment industry.
This is Seungri. At this point, I think it would be best if I retire from the entertainment industry. I decided on retiring from the entertainment industry as the issues that I caused a societal disturbance with are too major. Regarding the issues that are being investigated, I will be investigated diligently and reveal all the suspicions. Receiving criticism and hate from the public for the past month and a half and with the situation of all the investigative agencies in the country currently investigating me, I am even being cornered as a traitor of the nation. I personally cannot tolerate causing harm to everyone around me in order to save myself. I sincerely thank all of the fans in and outside of Korea who have given me lots of love for the past 10 years, and I think this is where I stop even if it’s at least [to protect] the honor of YG and BIGBANG. Again, I am sorry and apologize once again. I have been thankful to everyone until now.
Difficult to see this move as anything but him trying to control the narrative surrounding all the recent allegations and focus it on his career so he can play the victim of sorts to fans.
Meanwhile, a source from YG Entertainment talked to the press and said the company wasn’t involved in the decision.
According to YTN, a source from YG revealed, “Seungri’s retirement announcement was not a decision made after consulting with YG, but a decision made on his own.” The source continued, “He was even more distressed because these incidents happened right before his enlistment.”
The source also said, “To be honest, no exact details have been revealed about Seungri during the past month and a half of police investigations. Seungri felt especially more guilty about causing harm to those around him.” In a similar statement to the outlet Xportsnews, a source from YG also said, “Currently, there is no additional statement to be made from the company related to this. There has also been nothing decided yet in regards to anything such as a termination of his exclusive contract.”
Hard for me to buy that he just did this on a whim, but in the grand scheme of everything that’s happening, this announcement doesn’t even have any tangible impact because he wasn’t going to be active in the entertainment industry for a while regardless.
