K-pop filled the gap that was left after the members of 90s boybands started solo careers and started looking a little odd.

The music phenomenon put South Korea on the map. Bands like BIGBANG epitomise the genre by embodying South Korean pop culture that is broadcast to a global audience.

That’s exactly why the recent allegations against two of the BIGBANG band members, involving sex tapes, prostitutes and secret chats about rape, has shocked South Korea’s music world and slammed entertainment stocks, reports Reuters.

If you’re unfamiliar with K-pop and BIGBANG, here they are in action.

One more, because why not:

You get the idea. Let’s move onto the court case.

Singer Lee Seung-hyun, 28, better known by the stage name Seungri (below), is suspected of paying for prostitutes for foreign businessmen to drum up investment in his business.

He denies any wrongdoing and said he would cooperate with a police investigation when he arrived at Seoul’s Metropolitan Police Agency.

He says that he is sorry and will be leaving the entertainment industry to fight the allegations. His fellow bandmate and television celebrity Jung Joon-young is also in trouble.

Jung admitted on Wednesday to having shared videos he secretly took while having sex with women. He appeared at the same police station earlier on Thursday to help police with an investigation into suspicions he distributed the videos.

Jung’s agency, MAKEUS Entertainment, has terminated his contract and he has been barred from leaving the country while police question him.

Both Jung and Lee were part of online chat groups where secret sex tapes were shared, and men joked about drugging and raping women.

So they’re basically trash.

Industry commentators have taken aim at the business managers, notorious for demanding the strictest of training regimes and controlling every aspect of young stars’ lives.

The focus on finding the winning song and dance formula came at the cost of the performers’ “moral education”, said entertainment commentator Ha Jae-keun, adding that many companies covered up problems until it was too late.

Whatever the reason, I doubt their careers will be back on track any time soon.

[source:reuters]