Former K-pop star Seungri indicted in prostitution case

Former K-pop idol Seungri has been indicted on charges of orgainising prostitution and habitual gambling, according to a report.

The "Burning Sun Scandal," began when Seungri was charged last year with supplying prostitutes at different nightclubs in Gangnam district, Dailymail reported.

An official with the central prosecutor's office in Seoul, Korea, confirmed that Lee was indicted for organizing prostitutes, habitual gambling, and trading illegal foreign currency, CNN reported.

K-pop artists are expected by the industry and fans alike to maintain a polished image, CedarBough Saeji, an expert on Korean culture who was then at the University of British Columbia, told CNN.

"Their every public moment is a product to be consumed as representative of the nation, representative of ideal behaviour, and representative of performative talent," Saeji said.

Seungri whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun was one of K-pop's biggest stars before he dramatically quit the entertainment industry in March last year after it emerged that he was under investigation.

"I just cannot bear causing any further damage to people around me, while being hated and criticized by the public and being treated as a nation's enemy during the investigation," he posted to Instagram at the time.

The investigation also revealed that two other K-pop stars singer-songwriter Jung Joon-young and former boy band member Choi Jong-hoon had sexually assaulted women who were either unconscious or incapacitated and then shared footage of the incidents with friends, including Seungri.

Seungri was a public relations director at the now-shuttered club, where staffers are alleged to have used hidden cameras to film women and to have used alcohol and drugs to sexually assault them.