BIGBANG's Seungri Faces New Assault Complaint Barely 3 Years After Prison Release

Seungri is under police investigation again. The Gangnam Police Station received a criminal complaint against the former BIGBANG member on August 26, accusing him of aggravated assault, and has since opened a formal inquiry.

According to the complaint, Seungri allegedly attacked a man in his 30s, identified only as Mr. A, at a restaurant in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, in late August. Police plan to interview the complainant soon to establish the specifics.

Seungri's version

He didn't wait long to push back. In an interview with Ilgan Sports, Seungri said he did pick up a glass bottle when declining to join a stranger's table, but insists he never swung it or used it to threaten anyone. He claims the two men eventually sat together, parted on good terms, and even exchanged follow-up text messages afterward. On the strength of that account, plus CCTV footage and witness statements he says support him, Seungri is considering filing a counter-complaint for false accusation.

The record

None of this happens in a vacuum. Seungri debuted with BIGBANG in 2006 and was one of the group's most prominent figures before the Burning Sun scandal broke in 2019. He was identified as a central figure in the case, which unraveled into a sprawling investigation involving an illegally operated nightclub, drug use, hidden-camera footage, and sex trafficking. He ultimately faced nine charges, including habitual gambling, arranging prostitution, embezzlement, and soliciting aggravated assault, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He left BIGBANG and retired from the entertainment industry at the time.

Seungri completed his sentence and was released from Yeoju Prison in Gyeonggi Province in February 2023. Since then he has surfaced periodically in reports about nightlife appearances in Cambodia and elsewhere abroad.

The timing here is uncomfortable, and the pattern is hard to ignore. Police say the investigation is ongoing.