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On Sunday, May 19, BBC released an hour-long documentary on the Burning Sun scandal that unfolded in 2019. Following the same, former BIGBANG member Seungri's fans showcased support for the idol and expressed that the sudden revisit of the Burning Sun scandal and the direction of attention towards BIGBANG's Seungri was plotted by HYBE Labels.
Given that HYBE has currently been garnering attention and criticism due to its conflicts with ADOR, fans expressed that the BBC documentary was HYBE's media play. The controversy revolved around BIGBANG Seungri's Gangnam nightclub and involved several other K-pop stars, such as F.T. Island's Choi Jong-hoon, Highlight's Jong Jun-hyung, CNBLUE's Lee Jong-hyun, and more.
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A police investigation around the club revealed several illegal practices, such as sharing videos of non-consensual s*x, r*pe, and other videos through a group chat maintained on Kakao Talk. While the scandal initially landed on the internet in 2019, it has recently garnered internet attention through BBC's revisit of the controversy.
The recent documentary not only exposed intricate details of the controversy, but also revealed several other stars who were involved in the scandal, some of whom were victims while others were accused of being guilty. However, given that this revisits to the controversy garners criticism around Seungri, his fans came in defense.
HYBE Labels accused of media play as BBC releases an hour-long documentary revisiting the 2019 Burning Sun scandal
When BBC's documentary was released, several Seungri fans expressed that this was a media play by HYBE Labels to distract netizens from the ongoing feud between HYBE and ADOR. However, netizens expressed that comparing the Burning Sun scandal and the controversy between HYBE and ADOR shouldn't be kept on par with each other.
The Burning Sun scandal has threatened and harmed the lives of several women. Therefore, to neglect the new pieces of information from the BBC documentary as HYBE's media play instead of understanding the seriousness it showcases. Netizens have been expressing that fans should stop defending Seungri and hold him accountable for his actions instead of brushing it off or claiming it as HYBE's media play.
They explained that regardless of whether the documentary was initiated by HYBE Labels or not, the content still showcased the reality of the Burning Sun scandal and Seungri's role in the same. For those who are unaware, Burning Sun is a nightclub kickstarted by BIGBANG's Seungri in 2019. However, the club was soon exposed for its illegal activities. The scandal is considered to be one of the most controversial incidents in the K-pop industry.
Though people have continued to criticize the people involved in the scandal, the controversy in itself wasn't revisited for a long time. However, the recent exploration made by the BBC to showcase the work done by the two female journalists who investigated the scandal, garnered attention to the scandal again.
However, Seungri's fans soon came to his defence by stating that the recent documentary release was plotted by HYBE to cover up their ongoing conflict with ADOR. In early April, HYBE announced an audit over their subsidiary company, ADOR, following suspicions of a power struggle.
The struggle showcased evidence of ADOR CEO, Min Hee-jin, plotting to make ADOR an independent company. Some of her efforts to achieve the same included spreading claims about HYBE stealing Min Hee-jin's idea of NewJeans for their new groups such as TWS, ILLIT, etc.
However, in an emergency press conference, Min Hee-jin explained that her choice to make ADOR independent was due to the lack of compensation from HYBE for NewJeans' commercial success. Additionally, Min Hee-jin was accused of several other things such as low pay, abuse of female ADOR employees, lack of promotions for NewJeans, slave contracts, and more. Therefore, HYBE has been under heavy criticism.
