Persuaded Choi Jonghoon at the time to find out Yoon Gyugeun's name
It was recently revealed that the late Goo Hara played a crucial role in exposing the so-called 'Burning Sun scandal,' which shocked the public by uncovering the collusion between law enforcement and crimes in the entertainment industry such as prostitution mediation, drugs, and illegal filming involving former Big Bang member Seungri.
The BBC documentary released on the 19th, titled "Burning Sun: The Stories of Women Who Exposed K-pop Stars' Secret Chatrooms," detailed the behind-the-scenes coverage of the Burning Sun case. In particular, it was disclosed that Goo Hara's tip-off was instrumental in finding clues to the case.
Past party scene of singers Seungri and Jung Joon-young released by BBC News Korea. [Image source=BBC Korea YouTube capture]
Earlier, Kang Kyung-yoon, the journalist who first exposed the KakaoTalk chat records of famous singers including Seungri, Jung Joon-young, and Choi Jong-hoon during the incident, explained, "The chat logs revealed two major issues: sexual crimes and police collusion. Regarding the police collusion, it was an unsolved question whether the person involved was a real individual, but Goo Hara appeared and helped break the deadlock."
It is said that Goo Hara later contacted Kang directly. Kang recalled, "(Goo Hara) said she wanted to help in any way she could. I honestly told her that I wanted to know which police officer appeared in the chat logs but had no way to find out, so she called Choi Jong-hoon and got the information for me."
Goo Hara was known to have known Choi Jong-hoon since their trainee days. It was Goo Hara who learned the name of Police Superintendent General Yoon Kyu-geun, who was called the "Police Chief" in the KakaoTalk chatroom, from Choi Jong-hoon.
Regarding this, Goo Hara's older brother, Goo Ho-in, said, "I understand that my sister persuaded (Choi Jong-hoon) to 'honestly tell the reporter what you know.' I overheard their conversation at the time, and she said, 'Jong-hoon, I'll help you, just tell it as it is.'"
Meanwhile, Seungri was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison on nine charges including habitual gambling, violation of the Act on the Punishment of Acts of Arranging Sexual Traffic, and violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes as a key figure in the 2019 Burning Sun club scandal. He was released on February 9 last year after serving his sentence.
Goo Hara was found dead at her home on November 24, 2019. At the time, she was involved in a legal battle over allegations against her ex-boyfriend Choi Jong-beom, including assault and illegal filming. On October 15, 2020, the Supreme Court upheld the original sentence of one year imprisonment for Choi. However, he was acquitted of the illegal filming charges, as in the original trial.
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