Allegations Raised Over 'Shirts Room' and 'Condition' as
'Sex Trade Slang' Appearing in Transcript
Choi Min-hwan of FT Island (left) and Yulhee, a broadcaster and former member of the group Laboum. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Group FT Island's Choi Min-hwan has been embroiled in prostitution allegations following the release of a recorded conversation by his ex-wife Yulhee, with suspicions raised that the terms he mentioned in the recording are slang related to prostitution.
On the 28th, these suspicions spread widely across multiple online communities. Previously, Yulhee publicly released the recorded conversation with Choi Min-hwan on YouTube on the 24th.
In the recording, Choi Min-hwan said things like, "If you go to a shirt (shirt room), of course there won't be any (hostesses), right?" "Is it karaoke (entertainment bar), not rotation? These days, all the high-end entertainment bars (ten) have rotation," "How much is the main charge there? What about the TC (table charge)?" "Ask if you can choose the hostess," and "Please prepare just two toothbrushes and two Condition drinks."
In response, netizens raised suspicions that the "shirt" he mentioned refers to a "shirt room," a business operated similarly to a room salon. The shirt room is named because female hostesses serve customers while wearing shirts. Additionally, netizens speculated that the word "Condition" he used refers to a "male contraceptive product."
Meanwhile, after the recording was made public, Choi Min-hwan withdrew from KBS 2TV's "The Return of Superman," where he was appearing, and the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul has begun a pre-investigation into Choi Min-hwan on charges of violating the Special Act on Prostitution. Choi Min-hwan's agency, FNC Entertainment, released a statement saying, "We feel responsible for disappointing the public and plan to suspend all media activities."
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