Seungri in August Soju Bottle Dispute at Restaurant; Rejects Settlement and Opts for Investigation, Faces Three Charges at Gangnam Police Station

A desperate bid for a settlement? The two sides offer conflicting accounts

Former BIGBANG member Seungri, who has been booked on suspicion of special assault, has denied the allegations outright, saying, “I never swung a soju bottle or hit anyone.”

On the 23rd, attorney Yoon Jae-bin of law firm Surim, Seungri’s legal representative, released an official statement laying out what happened at a restaurant in Seoul’s Gangnam district on Aug. 8. According to the defense, Seungri was dining with two acquaintances when a man he did not know—the complainant—repeatedly asked to join them. Despite being turned down several times, the man allegedly sat down in an unoccupied seat without permission.

According to the defense, Seungri tried to defuse the situation by offering the complainant a drink and exchanging contact information. But an argument broke out after the complainant continued to refuse a request to leave. The defense acknowledged that Seungri picked up a soju bottle during the altercation, but insisted, “It was an emotional confrontation provoked by the complainant. There was no physical assault or threat whatsoever.”

One notable point is how the two sides acted immediately after the incident. Seungri’s side said they parted on friendly terms after the disturbance, greeting each other, and later exchanged text messages. But a few days later, the complainant allegedly changed his stance and filed a complaint with Gangnam Police Station, accusing Seungri of assault, intimidation and confinement.

The complainant’s side is also said to have initiated settlement talks after filing the complaint, emerging as a new point of contention in the case. Seungri’s side firmly rejected a settlement, maintaining a hard line: “We will cooperate fully with the police investigation and establish the facts clearly through investigators.”

Police plan to summon Seungri as a suspect soon to investigate the circumstances of the incident. Seungri left the group in 2019 amid the Burning Sun scandal, which made headlines nationwide. He was sentenced to one year and six months in prison on nine charges, including habitual gambling and arranging prostitution, and was released after completing his sentence in February last year.