[Photo by Yoo Dae-gil ]
South Korea's police chief promised Tuesday to conduct a "thorough" investigation into a high-profile sex scandal involving Yoochun, a disgraced K-pop star who has been sued for bathroom raping.
The scandal has sparked rampant speculation and public attention since it surfaced on June 14, becoming the hottest talk of the town. So far four women have sued Yoochun who started his mandatory military service last August as a public service worker in Seoul's Gangnam district.
"A comprehensive and thorough investigation will be conducted ... because this is not a simple case of sexual assault but one involving a star entertainer," Nationa Police Agency chief Kang Sin-myeong told reporters, citing "national attention".
On Monday, Yoochun, who is popular in Japan and China, launched a legal battle to prove he is innocent after a fourth woman sued him for alleged raping in the bathroom of a karaoke bar.
The first woman sued Yoochun of raping her in the bathroom of a private membership bar in Seoul's Gangnam district. She dropped her suit later, but three other women filed separate rape suits against him last week.
The second, identified as a bar employee in a Gangnam bar, claimed she had been sexually assaulted on December 16. The third woman accused Yoochun of raping her at his home in June 2014. The fourth woman claimed she was sexually assaulted in the bathroom of a karaoke room while drinking together in February 2015.
Yoochun's management agency, C-JeS Entertainment, has insisted all the suits were based on groundless allegations but warned Yoochun would leave the entertainment community if he is found to be guilty in any case.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
