Source: Cheongwadae [National Petition Site]
Police Commissioner Min Gap Ryong has answered the national petition filed with the Blue House.
A petition was started on April 11th asking for investigations into Seungri's club Burning Sun VIP rooms that were used to perpetrate the alleged sexual assaults and drugging of women and minors in 6 VIP rooms at club Burning Sun. You can read the full Dispatch report here.
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| Burning Sun VIP room and restroom where alleged "sex crimes" happened |
JTBC had reported that there were existing records that documented the use of the VIP rooms to include names, manner of use, and more. The petitioner started the petition because of the public's distrust of the Seoul Police and asked that the public protect their children and families by making sure the perpetrators are held accountable.
The petition had been signed by 213,327 people at the time of expiration a month later.
Below is Police Commissioner Min Gap Ryong's answer to this petition:
"Hello, I'm Min Gap Ryong, Police Commissioner.
We will respond to the National complaint filed that calls for strict investigation into sex crimes at 6 Burning Sun VIP Rooms.
In November last year, an assault at club Burning Sun led to suspicions of drugs, prostitution, illegal hidden cameras and police collusion. In order to thoroughly investigate all the allegations raised, we formed a large-scale investigation team of 152 people centered at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Investigation Unit where we booked 354 people and arrested 29. In particular, 10 police officers have been caught on charges of police collusion and have been forwarded to prosecution. It was during prosecution that allegations of Seungri's prostitution and embezzlement surfaced as well allegations of Police Chief Yoon's abuse of power.
In order to combat drug related crimes at clubs, we launched intensive measures that began February 25th and were ongoing for 3 months for prevention of these types of crimes. Police have also cracked down on drug crimes with 3,994 drug offenders booked and 920 arrested. We also booked 161 suspects and arrested 34 for filming and distributing hidden cameras.
In particular, we focused on the activities at the so-called 'VIP Room' reported by the petitioner. We investigated VIP room guests and club staff in the leaked video and booked 42 suspects with 3 arrested for illegally filming sex acts in a club restroom and distributing them to other sites. No sexual assaults or date r*pe drugs were reported from the investigation.
We will continue to implement follow-up measures to crack down on illegal activities especially drug crimes at clubs that jeopardize women's safety. We will cooperate with relevant agencies domestic and abroad to deal with drug use crimes against women quickly and strictly.
In addition, we will reinforce communication with women organizations to address the causes of women's anxiety and cooperate with relevant ministries like the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.
We are seriously aware of the growing distrust and anxiety over police law enforcement in the Burning Sun incident and we plan to establish a comprehensive countermeasure to eliminate corruption and police collusion by cutting off the link between the two through a "special HR management zone."
We humbly accept the criticisms that the investigation results are not sufficient and will be the foundation for development of the police. Thank you"