The South Korean entertainment industry has been in an utter shock following a chatroom controversy involving singer-songwriter Jung Joon Young. Unfortunately for him, the controversy has affected his upcoming restaurant in France.
In a report from AllKpop, the singer-turn-actor's French restaurant is falling through amidst his recent chatroom controversy. A member of the establishment clarified that it was "never officially opened" in the first place, although it was initially planned as a "2-week pop-up restaurant" with a short-term rental.
This means that all the chefs Jung Joon Young employed, as well as other related employees, were supposed to work for only two weeks. Not only did the restaurant receive a positive respond, but it also became hit in South Korea. Also, in October of last year, he opened a Korea restaurant in Paris, France and called it Masion De Coree.
However, according to the aforementioned member, Jung Joon Young never thought of opening an official restaurant. And while he believes the singer might have been interested in the idea, it is almost impossible to turn things around this time. After all, the K-pop artist is facing a controversy that resulted in the loss of 50 percent of the restaurant's investors. Ultimately, the plans have been dismantled.
The singer is facing charges for filming and sharing hidden camera footage of sexual acts in a KakaoTalk chatroom. The latter included other male celebrities, with Seungri of K-pop boy band Big Bang being one of them. Also, the chatroom members reportedly have CEOs and other non-celebrity friends. All of these individuals participated in illicit activities, ranging from solicitation of prostitution to bribing law enforcement officials.
Soompi reports that the above-mentioned charges can potentially add weight to Jung Joon Young's case. Apparently, this would mean more years in jail. A lawyer of the show Section TV said that if a person faces several crimes in South Korea, the punishment he receives will be up to 1.5 times the crime with the longer sentence.
The lawyer added that based on the singer's crimes, which were committed back in 2015 and 2016, the maximum sentence is five years. But with additional charges, there are additional years - all of which can lead to at least seven years and six months.
As previously reported, the police have officially applied for a warrant of arrest. And once it goes through, Jung Joon Young will then be arrested. As far as Seungri's case is concerned, the authorities have no plan yet on pursuing a warrant of arrest.
