I really like reading your analysis. From a reasonable point of view, it seems fairly unbiased and you also seem to have done your research as well. 1) Do you have any idea about KVIPs stance on the whole Seungri situation? Are they still supporting him or not? 2) Seungri stans say they'll only believe the statement his lawyer gives. But aren't lawyers paid to defend their clients? Can we take his lawyer's statements as an unbiased source?
Oh, anon⦠Thank you, but Iāll be honest with you: Iām not an unbiased source. In the beginning I was very much for Seungri and defended him stubbornly. Then, as time went on and more was revealed, I became a little less so, my optimism and confidence in him withering away. It was sometime in April when I finally saw where this was going and switched sides. Now Iām pretty publicly against him. I donāt believe heās guilty of every terrible thing heās been accused of by the public, no, and you wonāt ever catch me joining in on that awful āelectric chairā meme or anything nearly that extreme. But I do believe heās been involved in some pretty despicable things ā that ultimately, heās the one who got himself into this mess ā and I just want to see him take responsibility for what heās done, be disciplined accordingly, and show some measure of resolve to better himself as a person.
But Iād also appreciate it if he does it far away from us and the rest of Big Bang.
As for KVIPs, Iām not sure. I canāt read, speak, or understand Korean. All I know is I have heard that itās primarily international fans still defending Seungri, and Iām willing to believe that, because that seems to be the case anytime a member of BB ends up in hot water. Many of us IVIPs have different standards than Koreans, different life experiences, different cultures. As a result of this separation ā and a lack of cultural context ā we tend to be more lenient toward these idols. What weāre hearing second- and third-hand might seem excusable to us, but just remember that KVIPs are closer to the issue. The effect of this recent controversy is more immediate for them than for those of us residing, say, halfway across the world. Itās personal. Can we really blame them for being angry?
I think itās also important to remember that weāre relying solely on translations, whereas Koreans are not. Theyāre getting their news direct from the source and they understand the nuances of everything thatās being reported in a way we donāt.
āCan we take his lawyerās statements as an unbiased source?ā
Absolutely not. Saying youāll only believe statements from Seungriās laywer is the same as saying youāll only believe statements from Seungri himself. Seungriās lawyer works for Seungri. He is Seungriās mouthpiece, his representative to the public and the court; Seungri speaks through him. Seungri has had a few foot-in-mouth moments throughout this investigation; his lawyer, however, isnāt likely to make the same mistake. Itās his job to get Seungri out of this, and to use his legal expertise to help him construct defenses that have a chance of holding up in court, no matter how implausible they may sound to us, no matter how implausible they may be.
Case in point: Park Yoochunās recent drug scandal.
Yoochun was suspected of purchasing and using drugs with his ex-fiancee, Hwang Hana. Hwang Hana had confessed to using meth with a celebrity friend, but the name of said friend wasnāt revealed. Immediately, speculation about Yoochun started up, given their past together. In response, Yoochun held a press conference where he professed his innocence, cried, agreed to a drug test and promised to retire from the entertainment industry if it came back positive. āI have never used drugs,ā he said. āI cannot even imagine thinking of using drugs.ā
The media reported on video evidence of him wiring funds to a dealer and picking up the package from a secluded location, so Yoochun had his lawyer file a lawsuit against the news station for reporting āfalse factsā. He requested that the police investigate him (sound familiar?) vowing to ādiligently participate in the investigation.ā A follicle test was done using hair from his head and legs ā because he had removed most of the hair from the rest of his body.
He tested positive for meth (philopon).
This was his lawyerās statement: āThe results of the National Forensic Service cannot be denied. However, Park Yoochunās stance that he did not do drugs remains unchanged. We are looking into how the Philopon entered his body and was detected by the drug test initiated by the National Forensic Service.ā
And everyone tuning in went what???
In desperation, Yoochun even quietly reached out to a lab in the US to ask if it could be possible that the meth had gotten into his system through sexual intercourse with Hwang Hana. The answer: as a woman? Improbable, but not impossible. But as a man? No.
A week later, he caved and admitted to the allegations of purchasing and using drugs ā and even revealed more instances that werenāt known. His lawyer promptly stepped down from the case. He has now been indicted (formally charged) and is being detained until his trial ā and as promised, has also officially retired from the industry.
In conclusion, anything Seungriās lawyer says ā in other words, anything Seungri says through his lawyer ā should be taken with a grain of salt.