Singer Jung Joon-young admitted to the charges against him Thursday, acknowledging he had illegally filmed and distributed sex videos, before heading into the Seoul court for his arrest warrant hearing.

Jung was transferred to the Jongno Police Station around noon with his hands bound and will be held there until the court decides whether to issue an arrest warrant. The court’s decision is expected either late Thursday evening or Friday morning.

Wearing a black suit and with his hair tied back, the singer read a handwritten statement before the hearing and admitted to the allegations. He then apologized to the women involved and to the public.

“I admit to all suspicions. I will not challenge the charges brought by the investigative agency, and I will humbly accept the court’s decision,” Jung said.

“I bow my head and apologize to the women victimized and hurt by rumors irrelevant to the truth. I also apologize to everyone who supported me,” he added.

Jung is accused of secretly filming sex videos showing at least 10 victims and sharing them with eight people in 2015 in a mobile messenger group chat. The other chat participants included K-pop stars Seungri of Big Bang and Choi Jong-hoon of FT Island.

Under South Korean law, filming or sharing sex videos without the consent of those involved is punishable by up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won ($26,424).

Jung’s arrest warrant hearing took place at the same time as three others: one for an acquaintance of Jung’s, surnamed Kim, whose chat room communication implicated a high-ranking police officer in the scandal; one for a Burning Sun board member, surnamed Jang, who allegedly attacked clubgoer Kim Sang-kyo in late November; and one for a security guard named Yoon, accused of attacking a guest in 2017 at Club Arena, also in Gangnam.



By Kim Bo-gyung (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)