Ex K-Pop Star Jung Joon-young Released From Jail After Serving 5 Years For The Burning Sun Scandal

Jung Joon-young, the singer convicted of gang rape and illegal distribution of sex videos was let out of Mokpo Prison in Jeollanam-do on the morning of March 19 after serving his full five-year prison term. He left from the facility at around 5:05 am, a day earlier than the originally scheduled release date of March 20. He was seen wearing a black mask and a hat, hiding his face from public view.

The former K-Pop star was implicated in one of South Korea’s high-profile spycam scandals. He was arrested and charged in March 2019 for his role in the gang rape of women in Hongcheon, Gangwon-do, and Daegu in January and March 2016, respectively. He was found guilty of rape on two occasions and also of recording himself having intercourse with a woman without their consent or knowledge, and even shared the footage. He was also accused of distributing illicit sexual videos in the Jung Joon-young KakaoTalk chatrooms.

His case was among a series of high-profile sex scandals involving male celebrities that came to light during the peak of a local #MeToo movement. This movement gained momentum when thousands of women protested in the Korean capital of Seoul in 2018, chanting, “My life is not your porn.” This scandal is more infamously known as the Burning Sun Scandal, which also includes BIGBANG’s Seungri along with many other celebrities, including K-Pop idols and police authorities.

In March 2019, Jung took a step back from the entertainment industry after he admitted to have “filmed women without their consent and shared it in a chatroom.” On November 29, 2019, he was sentenced to six years in prison, however, in May 2020, the Seoul High Court reduced his sentence to five years.

In his closing statement at the second trial, the former K-Pop idol expressed remorse, acknowledging his inappropriate behaviour. He had stated, “I deeply regret my immoral and irresponsible actions towards the victims, and I will spend the rest of my life reflecting on my past mistakes.”