Controversy after Jung Joon-young's prison release in 'Burning Sun' case

K-entertainment celebrity Jung Joon-yung was released from prison on March 19, 2024. Since then, he has been the subject of outrage due to his declarations that he wants to return to music.

Content warning: This gallery contains mentions of s e *ual abuse.

Prior to his sentencing as a s e * offender, Jung Joon-young was a singer-songwriter, actor, and television personality.

Jung Joon-young was born on February 21, 1989, in Seoul, South Korea. According to Mnet, he is the son of an international businessman who is fluent in English, Mandarin, and Korean after growing up abroad.

Jung Joon-young rose to prominence in K-entertainment with his entrance into the reality TV show ‘Superstar K4’. Star News reports that his appearance on the show managed to get his music out to a larger audience, which propelled him into celebrity status.

Life after his appearance on ‘Superstar K4’ turned Jung Joon-yong into one of Korea’s in-demand celebrities, he was invited to appear on many shows, with the most notable being his casting in season 3 of ‘2 Days & 1 Night’.

Jung Joon-young’s activities as a celebrity ended in 2019 when it was discovered that he had been illegally filming women he had slept. The Korea Times added that he had also abused them.

Variety reports that this was known as the ‘Burning Sun’ scandal because it also implicated other celebrities, like Seungri from BigBang. They were involved in the illegal distribution of these videos and the tr4fficking of women.

Jung Joon-young pleaded guilty and was initially sentenced to six years in prison. However, The Straits Times reports that he was released on March 19, 2024, after having his sentence reduced to five years.

Since his rehabilitation in March, Jung Joon-young has become a hot topic in K-entertainment. The reason is the BBC release of a documentary regarding the 'Burning Sun' scandal on May 19. However, the disgraced star also announced that he intends to return to the music industry on May 22, reports Allkpop.

Allkpop reports that Jung Joon-young has intentions to produce music and to return to the K-music scene as a music producer, and was reported to have been reaching out to his contacts in the music industry to achieve this goal of his.

Nate reports that Jung Joon-young might also be potentially emigrating. However, not much information is known about where he might potentially be emigrating to.

Given the renewed interest in the 'Burning Sun' scandal since the BBC released a documentary revisiting the incident on May 19, not only is Jung Joon-young at the centre of attention, but so are the other celebrities involved, including Zico, Choi Jong-hoon, Seungri, and Yong Jun-hyung.

Image: KBS2

According to Allkpop, K-netizens are calling for the cancellation of the involved celebrities due to renewed anger towards them.

Aside from anger in South Korea, the release of the BBC documentary has exposed the matter to a global audience, who are equally outraged at the celebrities and their relatively light consequences in the aftermath of 'Burning Sun'.

Some of them, such as Zico, are still active in the Korean entertainment industry. Others, such as Seungri, who has been effectively canceled in South Korea, were reported by Theqoo to be looking for ventures outside of the country, with plans to open a new nightclub in Cambodia.

Given the renewed attention to these celebrities' crimes due to the BBC's latest documentary, it is likely that Seungri and Jung Joon-young's chances of starting a successful new life overseas will be compromised.