The investigative team of the BBC World Service, known as BBC Eye, has recently unveiled a thought-provoking documentary titled “Burning Sun.”This documentary explores the infamous Burning Sun Scandal that sent shockwaves through the South Korean entertainment industry in 2019.
The documentary sheds light on numerous previously undisclosed details of the scandal, reigniting the public’s anger and scrutiny towards the K-Pop idols involved.
The Burning Sun Scandal initially surfaced in January 2019, primarily involving the Burning Sun nightclub located in Seoul.
The scandal exposed a disturbing network of unlawful actions, such as the distribution of drugs, instances of sexual assault, and instances of police corruption.
BBC posted a docu abt burning sun scandal with unreleased videos & messages between sngri, JJY & choi jnghoon🤢The reporter who published the case said she also got a call from Hara saying she wants to help: (Hara was the one who confirmed the “police” who was part of the GC… pic.twitter.com/Hko3a6Ch5H
— Dening (@gol3naotc) May 19, 2024
At the center of the dispute were well-known K-Pop celebrities including Seungri, who was previously part of the widely acclaimed group Big Bang, and singer Jung Joon Young.
The public was shocked and appalled when Jung was found guilty and given a prison sentence for his involvement in a scandal where he secretly filmed and distributed videos of women without their consent in group chats. This heinous crime not only horrified fans and non-fans alike, but also caused significant harm to the reputation of the Korean entertainment industry.
Jung Joon Young also got his 6-year sentence reduced to 5 and is now out of prison. His other accomplice Seungri has been out of prison for years and is back in the entertainment industry partying like nothing happened and still has some BigBang fans claiming he was framed. pic.twitter.com/qAAHzjTYxz
— LATwice (@EverglowInLA) May 19, 2024
The BBC documentary not only revisited these dark details, but also uncovered new revelations that have reignited public anger.
Despite the scandal’s attention dying down, singer Zico has once again been brought into the spotlight as he was previously implicated in connection with Jung Joon Young.
Zico is Jung Joon-Young’s friend. Zico is accused of being a supporter of his friend’s videos.He directly involved as he wasn’t invited into the groupchat but it is said that he goes into Jung Joon-Hyung’s house and beggs for his managers phone. (which apparently has the videos) pic.twitter.com/R4iQQS3qq4
— anhydrous dirt (@hmmngbrds) March 11, 2019
During a 2016 guest appearance on a variety show, Zico disclosed that Jung owned a “golden phone”solely designated for the messaging app KakaoTalk. Jung further revealed that Zico frequently came over to his house and would browse through this phone.
the golden phone that zico refers to is one with contact of celebrities and not one where jung joon young covered up his crimes. btw, the main journalist in the case already danced to his song after burning sun and most of y’all only want to drag other famous into this by fanwar https://t.co/jv1AAoomcV pic.twitter.com/LVY4A7GEb3
— tae (@ktae0096) May 21, 2024
As the scandal revolved around the distribution of illegal videos via KakaoTalk chatrooms, numerous netizens have connected Zico’s remarks to Jung’s unlawful actions, questioning whether Zico had prior knowledge of the wrongdoing.
“He has a Golden Phone. It’s not his regular phone. He only uses it for KakaoTalk. He has a lot of contacts on it,”- Zico
Despite the scandal breaking out three years later, Zico continued to vehemently deny any knowledge or involvement in Jung’s crimes.
“The phone that I mentioned on the show had nothing to do with this unfortunate case. All I saw on that phone was a list of phone numbers, and I haven’t contacted Jung Joon Young on a personal level in a very long time. Please don’t make any rash assumptions, and regarding the malicious comments and spreading of false information, I will take strong actions against them,”- Zico
Despite his denial, doubts remained, particularly when Zico dropped a song in September 2019 called “Extreme,”with a particular line that garnered significant scrutiny: “I’ve never witnessed a video like that, I promise.”This line raised further doubts and was seen as a possible acknowledgment of his knowledge about the controversial videos.
The BBC documentary has once again highlighted these issues, prompting numerous netizens to call for a renewed investigation into possible involvement of Zico.
since we’re on the topic of burning sun again, i need the “zico golden phone” case reopened so i stop seeing all these praise tweets about him thank you 😊🫶
— sky (@mongtoni) May 19, 2024
Critics contend that his mention of the “golden phone”cannot be simply disregarded and demands a comprehensive investigation to dispel any uncertainties.
need this case reopened and zico’s golden phone investigated properly this time cos the way his disgusting ass does shit and walks freely unscathed every single time is sick https://t.co/rpLXIFa3du
— 🎀 (@KTHVlBES) May 19, 2024
Despite the allegations against Zico, there are also many who defend him by highlighting that none of the official investigations have found him guilty in the scandal.
Their argument is that the “golden phone”mentioned by Zico only contained a list of contacts and not the incriminating videos.
Advocates highlight that Zico’s interest in the phone stemmed from the extensive contact list it held, rather than any malicious material.
As someone who actively investigating the scandals, I believe she wouldn’t do challenge or support the artists that is related to the scandal in any way. She also wrote multiple articles praising zico’s work even after the scandal. 2. “Golden phone” mentioned in Radio star in… pic.twitter.com/RqG9pItQXm
— HOW’s mina (@taesanwon) May 20, 2024
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