BIGBANG member Seungri has announced his departure from the music industry after being charged with supplying prostitutes to patrons at a Seoul nightclub.

Variety reports the performer was booked with multiple sex charges on Sunday (Mar. 10) after South Korean police raided Burning Sun, a Seoul nightclub he co-owns. There had been growing suspicions of illegal activity over the past few months, so authorities visited the private club to find evidence. He was subsequently arrested and reportedly charged with helping provide drugs and sex workers to foreign investors and VIP clients.

Seungri has denied the allegations, but if he's convicted he could face up to three years in prison.

“We booked Seungri and changed his status to that of a suspect in order to issue a search and seizure warrant and clear [Seungri] of the suspicions,” a police spokesman said at a press conference.

The pop star, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, also announced his plans to "immediately retire from show biz" in order to protect BIGBANG's reputation, as well the group's talent agency YG Entertainment. He apologized to fans and said he could not "tolerate causing harm to everyone around me in order to save myself."

“At this point, I think it would be best if I retire from the entertainment industry. I decided on retiring from the entertainment industry as the issues that I caused a societal disturbance with are too major. Regarding the issues that are being investigated, I will be investigated diligently and reveal all the suspicions," Seungri wrote in a statement on Instagram (via soompi). "I am even being cornered as a traitor of the nation."

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