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| Yonhap |
By Park Si-soo
K-pop star Seungri has denied having corrupt ties with police, procuring prostitutes for investors, illegal overseas gambling and other allegations, saying they stemmed from KakaoTalk messages he had exchanged with friends for "bluffing" and to "show off."
He made the denial in his first media interview since the scandal surfaced weeks ago.
Sisa Journal, a weekly news magazine, ran a lengthy transcript of the phone interview on Wednesday. Seungri's attorney, Sohn Byung-ho, arranged the interview, the news magazine said.
"Honestly, I'm in a situation where even if I tell the truth, no one would believe it," Seungri was quoted as saying. "Even investigators believe that the contents of the KakaoTalk (chatrooms) are all true and considered evidence. [Sigh] I'm afraid I won't be judged fairly to be right or wrong because I'm famous and a celebrity.
"Didn't all of these events begin with the conversations from the KakaoTalk [chatrooms]? Just as we wrote 'police chief,' we were just fools, just friends who were bluffing and showing off without knowing anything.
"I am sorry to the people of Korea; aren't I in a position where I can't complain of the injustice or make rebuttals? Finally, to add one more thing, there was no overseas gambling, nor were there prostitution services."
Regarding reports of illegal overseas gambling based on messages between him and his unidentified business partner in 2014, the singer said, "When I said that I earned money during that time, or when I sent pictures of money, I was just bluffing and lying. I wanted to show off, so I said things that weren't even true."
The journal said Seungri had sent a message following the phone interview: "I was in the wrong. I shouldn't have gotten involved with those guys and done those things."
