MBC interviews 'Burning Sun' whistleblower Kim Sang Kyo, who says it's not fair the media only paid attention to the celebrities and not the victims
Kim Sang Kyo is the whistleblower who first brought the ‘Burning Sun scandal’ to light. Recently, BBC Korea released a documentary on the Jung Joon Young and Seungri case, and SBS’s investigative program ‘Unanswered Questions’ covered the late Goo Hara’s safe theft incident, reigniting public outrage over the Burning Sun scandal. On July 2, Kim appeared on MBC’s investigative program ‘PD Notebook’ to revisit the incident.
The Burning Sun scandal dates back to November 24, 2018. Kim attended Burning Sun, a club allegedly operated by Seungri, to celebrate a friend’s birthday. During his visit, Kim was assaulted by the club staff, resulting in broken ribs and other injuries. He witnessed drug use inside the club and reported it to the police, but instead of acting on the information he provided, he was subdued by the officers. CCTV footage captured the police assaulting Kim.
The situation escalated when Burning Sun officials filed charges against Kim for sexual harassment and assault. Additionally, the police filed charges against him as well. Kim faced over 15 charges, including obstructing business at the club, assault, obstructing official duties, and defamation.
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In a July 3 interview, Kim said, “My life was completely shattered after more than two years of investigation and nearly five years of trials. I had to quit my job. I endured over 12 hours of daily investigations, and they tried to pin every possible charge on me. It felt like a plan to destroy a person.”
Although most charges against Kim were dropped, he faced a long legal battle that went up to the Supreme Court over a sexual harassment charge. In May, the court upheld this charge. Kim received a suspended sentence of up to one year in prison, with a two-year probation period. This means he won’t have to serve any prison time unless he breaks the law during the two-year probation period.
“The person who accused me of sexual harassment was associated with an entertainment establishment related to Burning Sun,” Kim said. “There is suspicion that the harassment charge was instigated to wrap up the assault case. In South Korea, it’s tough for a man to live with the stigma of a sexual crime like harassment.”
Kim also claimed that his family received mysterious threats. “People in black suits came to my mother’s workplace for a month, pressuring her to settle. As a result, she had to quit her job of 20 years.”
Kim emphasized that the ‘Burning Sun scandal’ has been misrepresented and distorted in public opinion. “The Burning Sun incident is not really about the ‘celebrity group chat’ case. The Seungri-Jung Joon Young chat room incident is from back in 2016. While the celebrities involved should be punished, investigations into Burning Sun and related authorities were prematurely concluded. Victims like me and the women featured on ‘PD Notebook’ are left feeling betrayed.”
He continued, “The media and public attention all shifted to the celebrity group chat case, causing the real investigation into Burning Sun to fizzle out. Meanwhile, we are left to deal with court battles and hardships. This is cruel to all the victims involved.”
Kim added, “When I first reported the Burning Sun officials, I testified about witnessing drug use, but the police deleted this from my statement and ignored my story. The core issue is that despite being the first to report the incident, I was assaulted by authorities and had to endure years of trials.”
Roh Jong-eon, the representative lawyer from the law firm Joneze, who was the legal counsel for the late Goo Hara, stated, “It is strange that the Burning Sun scandal is concluded as merely personal misconduct by celebrities, without addressing the corruption among the police officers involved. Equality before the law should have no exceptions, not even for power institutions. This case urgently needs a reinvestigation.”
