The following story contains mentions and details of sexual assault.
Former HIGHLIGHT rapper Yong Jun-hyung broke 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 that shares the same name as the scandal, where most of the crimes took place. He was found guilty of nine charges, including complicity in prostitution and embezzlement. Convicted alongside him were singer-songwriter Jung Joon-young and former FT Island guitarist Choi Jong-hoon, both accused of gang raping drunk and unconscious women.
Data leaks stemming from Jung’s mobile phone revealed chat rooms where the celebrities involved shared molcas (a South Korean term used to refer to hidden spy cameras and illicit filming) and provide prostitutes for investors and Burning Sun VIPs.
While Yong was not directly involved in the crimes committed, he was one of numerous public figures identified as members of the chat rooms and would later admit to viewing the videos sent. After facing massive backlash for his involvement in the scandal, Yong left HIGHLIGHT and his label, Around Us Entertainment, that same year.
The Burning Sun scandal re-entered South Korean and global public consciousness last month after the BBC World Service investigative team, BBC eyepublished an extensive documentary revisiting the scandal and exposing new details about the crimes committed.
Yong has since broken his silence about his involvement in the scandal and chat rooms in a statement posted to his personal Instagram account today (June 12). “Back then, I was certainly foolish and made mistakes. “I could not correct the wrong situation, and in the midst of heated criticism without knowing what the right decision was, I was afraid and did not want to cause harm to (Around Us Entertainment) and the members of (HIGHLIGHT),” he wrote, as translated by Soompi.
“So, I made the decision 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 her were presented with a blacked out thumbnail with no descriptions, and that she “had no way of knowing what it was or what the intent was” before opening them. “I could have said ‘Stop it, this is wrong,’ but I couldn’t become the person who can say this, and I just ignored it.”
“As I explained and appealed even later, I never joined that group chat room nor was I involved in the incident where despicable things happened that I don’t even want to talk about,” Yong stated in his statement.
“For years, many media outlets and individuals have repeatedly labeled me as one of the figures involved in that incident, claiming that I was a member of the chat room and that I consumed illegal images.” He added that “to everyone and in every article I became the same kind of person as those people with whom I have nothing to do.” Yong also noted that she tried to “ignore (the situation) without gathering courage.”
Although he assured that he will “endure” the criticism he continues to face for his involvement, he asked that his loved ones, including his fans, “not feel hurt” by his actions. “I will strive every day to reflect deeply on the aspects that I could not correct in the past and the foolish actions and comments to become a mature person,” she concluded.
